


In this life and the next

by Burtronator



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: BAMF Lydia Martin, Cursed Derek, Derek is a Failwolf, Fox!Stiles, Kitsune, M/M, Magical Lydia Martin, Rape/Non-con Elements, Stiles is a kitsune, kitsune!stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-21
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-01-09 13:03:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1146325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burtronator/pseuds/Burtronator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is a werewolf who is cursed to die at age 25, watching those he cares about suffer before him, only to be reborn again in a new life. Stiles is an immortal Kitsune, who loves and loses Derek throughout time, growing in his power with the hope of one day saving him from fate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Deiric was bounding through the woods, leaping over fallen trees and catapulting over brambles. He could just hear Laurei towards his right, but the crashing noise was significantly closer behind him. The beast behind them bellows it's fury as it tries desperately to pursue them, but in such dense woods, it becomes impossible for a creature so large. A huge thud resounds through the forest as the creature sits down and begins to weep.

 

Deiric slows himself to a jog, angling himself towards where he last heard Laurei. He pulled one of the golden eggs he had stole out of his pouch and examined it. The surface was beautiful, engraved with swirling patterns, resembling a network of veins. It's a pity they didn't get the goose, they had to drop it and judging from the startled bleating they heard, the giant probably stepped on it in confusion.

 

As he walked, Deiric entered a clearing without noticing. At the sound of a high pitched bark, he looked up to behold a small fox, dancing frantically back and forth in front of him. He made a step to go around the fox and it growled at him lightly. Allowing his eyes to glow gold he growled right back at it and it whimpered and scurried away.

 

Before he had a chance to move however, the fox came bounding back with a large stick, which it stabbed in the grass in front of Deiric. A large snapping noise was the only warning as a huge boulder dropped near the edge of the clearing and the rope noose tightened around the fox's stick, pulling it up into the air, where the fox continued to hang, swinging playfully.

 

Deiric watched it with wide eyes, his eyebrows raised as it released, landing with a flourish and a small triumphant bark. On the other side of the clearing a noise signalled Laurei's entrance to the clearing, startling the fox to cower behind Deiric's legs. Laurei laughed when she saw it, laughing even more at the still bewildered look on Deiric's face.

 

"Looks like you made a friend brother" she knelt down and held out her hand to the fox, who slowly crept forth to sniff it suspiciously "how went your looting?"

 

"He saved my life actually." Deiric scratches carefully behind the foxes ears, drawing a light purr from the creature. "I only got one egg. I think the goose got crushed. How about you?"

 

"I got two. Three eggs is still enough to set us up for life Deiric!" Laurei grabs the fox and spins him around in the air laughing, before pulling it close and kissing it on the head "thanks for saving my brother little guy. Come on then, let's head back to camp and we'll see if we can't find a buyer for these babies tomorrow."

 

Together they make their way back to their campsite, the fox trotting and hopping along happily behind them.

 

*****

 

Deiric lay awake on his bedroll, the fox was nestled against his side breathing softly, not yet asleep. In the weeks they had been travelling together, Deiric had noticed that as well as being incredibly smart, this fox was almost always aware of its surroundings, sensing things sometimes before even his own enhanced senses could pick them up.

 

"Thank you" he said softly, watching as the fox's ears perked up and he turned his head to gaze at Deiric, "you've saved our hides more times than I can count now. It's nice to know that there are still people out there who won't tread all over my family..." The fox quirked an eyebrow at Deiric "...you know what I mean!" He snapped at it. Then stopped and chuckled at himself for arguing with a fox.

 

The fox's eyes flashed and its form seemed to expand, pushing out wards as if something was trying to escape. But it soon stopped and the fox huffed, looking suddenly exhausted. Whimpering it buried its head under Deiric's arm and fell asleep. Deiric watched it carefully before falling asleep himself, contemplating what he had seen.

 

*****

 

"NO!" Deiric screamed, flinging himself in the path of the arrow. The barbed head found its mark in his stomach and Deiric collapsed in front of the fox. The hunters yelled in frustration and were about to loose more arrows when Laurei slit their throats from behind.

 

"Deiric!" She cried, running towards him, her steps stumbling to a stop, eyes open in amazement as she notices the fox. His shape is distorting, stretching and lengthening until a small man is kneeling over Deiric, screaming his name, his hands fluttering around the arrow. The man grabs the arrow suddenly, his eyes glowing with amber light as he rips the arrow out before pressing his hands tightly against Deiric's side. A burst of light flares from beneath his hands and Deiric awakes suddenly, gasping for air.

 

As Deiric's eyes came into focus, he beheld a young boy sobbing lightly against his chest. His hands were covered in blood, Deiric's blood, and his face was streaked with tears. As he looked closer, Deiric noticed a pair of fluffy fox ears pressed back tight against the boys head. The boy was completely naked save for a fox tail which was curled around his waist.

 

Deiric sat up and put a hand on his stomach, he could feel the phantom pain from the arrow, but surrounded by blood there was no blemish upon his skin. The fox... The boy, looked up at Deiric eyes wide with remnants of panic and launched himself, curling his arms around Deiric's neck.

 

"Why would you do that? What is wrong with you? Why would you risk your life for a fox? I am just a stupid fox and you would die for me?" The boy sobbed, his words coming out as a jumbled train of his thought. Deiric gently put his arms around the boy and soothingly rubbed his back.

 

"Because, I have already lost all of my family except Laurei. I couldn't lose you too."

 

"I'm.... Your family?" The boy mutters weakly, eyes shining with hope.

 

"Of course you are." Deiric gently scratched behind the fox's ears, drawing a low purr from the boy, who proceeded to blush and duck his head. As they lay there, Laurei slowly walked over, before nudging the boy with her foot.

 

“So... you got a name fox boy?”

 

“I....I think... But I can’t really remember what it is right now...”

 

“Oh... okay, well I am just going to call you fox boy until you figure that one out” Laurei winks at him before clearing her throat and continuing “Now unless you two are planning on some more private activities, we should head back to camp and pack up. Can you turn back into a fox?” Deiric throws and arm over his face to hide his embarrassment, Fox just flushes red and stammers in response to her question.

 

“I don’t really know how. I don’t even know how I became this. It... just happened.” His brow creased and he looks off into the forest for a moment. Deiric sits up, pull of his cloak and throws it around Fox’s shoulders.

 

“Wear this until we get back to camp, we will go into town to get you some clothes.” Deiric says curtly. Together they stand and after disposing of the hunters bodies they make their way back to camp.

 

*****

 

“My tail is cramping” Fox whines, squirming in the leather pants he was wearing, “Can’t I just wear the cloak again and let it out?”

 

“We can’t risk it being seen. It’s hard enough hiding your ears under that stupid skull cap.” Deiric growls in response.

 

“Come on Foxxy, we’ll be out of here tomorrow. We’ll grab some rooms in the inn and you can get your tail out as much as you like in a while.” Laurei said, smiling as Fox continued to jiggle and squirm. “Also Deiric keep your eyes up. I’ll always love you, but village people aren’t as tolerant.”

 

Deiric blushes heavily as Fox whips his head around with wide eyes. Neither of them made a sound until they came within view of the village. A small, unassuming town, buildings made out of dried mud with thatched roofs. The two notable features where the large Inn, already bustling with energy and lively singing of drunk patrons, and three large wooden stakes in the centre of the village, shackles dangling from them menacingly.

 

“Well that’s a charming sight...” Laurei says softly, directing their party inside the inn. Laurei creeps off through the crowd, bringing the innkeeper back with her a few moments later, before they all head upstairs.

 

“Okay” she says once the innkeeper hands her the keys and heads off “I got us three rooms. Be careful whatever you do, judging from those poles, these people are not above a good old lynch mob.” Laurei hands them each a key, opens her door and chucks her packs inside the room. Turning to wink at them, she darts downstairs to join in the revelry.”

 

“Well.... I don’t know about you, but after today I could forgo the party tonight.” Deiric says carefully.

 

“Yeah. I agree, definitely sleep time. Need plenty of rest for... tomorrow.” Fox winks at him before slipping in his own room, calling out behind him “G’night Deiric!”

 

*****

 

Around midnight Deiric’s door creaked open, and a warm body soon curled around him, the brush of fur heating him as the tail curled over his stomach.

 

 

Deiric rolled towards him and gently kissed his cheek, his lips lingering on the soft skin. Fox moved his head slowly until their lips met and they shared a long, deep kiss.

 

 

As the kiss deepens, their hands begin to wander down, over each other’s bodies, exploring and memorising the flesh. Deiric rolls Fox up where the younger boy straddles his legs, his hands fluttering hesitantly near Deiric’s manhood. He looks down at Deiric, his eyebrows raised with an unspoken question.

 

Deiric smiles and nods at him, watching as the uncertainty in Fox’s face is replaced by a mischevious delight. The next moment, Deiric is gasping as warm fingers wrap tightly around him. Fox is staring down, his eyes wide, his mouth curved in a slight grin as he watched Deiric swell in his hands. He carefully moves his hand, pumps Deiric’s cock, looking up with a startled expression at the low groan it elicits. He moves his hand up and down again, watching Deiric’s face, the way his eyes are closed, how they crinkle with pleasure, how heavy his breathing is, ghosting past full, wet lips.

 

Fox rushes forward and kisses him, melting his body into Deiric’s. As their tongues danced, a thrill of pleasure shot down Fox’s spine as Deiric’s hand came between them, grasping both of their erections together and began to pump them. Overwhelmed by the new feelings, Fox lay his forehead on Deiric’s shoulder, panting and trying to keep himself under control. Deiric shifted and began nipping along Fox’s jaw.

 

Deiric’s hand began to move faster, pumping along their lengths and Fox could feel the pressure building up. Just as he was about the reach his climax, he clamped his teeth down on Deiric’s neck, causing the man to shudder and jerk, both of them finishing together, a wet heat covering their navels.

 

*****

 

A scream woke them both.

 

Deiric sat upright in time to see a maid bolting from the room screaming for guards, a glance to his right told him exactly why. Fox was scrambling to get clothes on, but his tail and ears were both still plainly visible. This was not going to end well.

 

They rushed to get their gear packed while Laurei was suddenly there, checking the windows for an escape route.

 

Laurei hit the ground when the mob burst down the door to seize Deiric and Fox. She was grabbed shortly after as she sprinted round the corner of the inn.

 

The three of them where dragged into the village square and forced to kneel before what looked to be the mayor and guard captain. Behind them, villagers began to pile wood beneath the three stakes.

 

The mayor begins talking, in a voice that spreads through the courtyard “You have all been found guilty of consorting with this” the mayor gestures at Fox “demon!” At this a large boo is heard from the people, with many hissing and spitting at them. After a pause the mayor continues.

 

“You have all been sentenced to death, by burning.” A cheer rises from the villagers as the three of them are hoisted and shackled to the stakes.

 

Fox looks around desperately. Laurei is crying softly, Deiric is glaring in defiance at the villagers. He can see no kindness or compassion from the villagers. He screams to let them go, to take him. He screams that they didn’t know. That he tricked them.

 

Nobody hears his pleas.

 

Hearing the terrible crackling sound to his left, and shortly after his right, Fox desperately wills for his power. He searches within him for that spark that had saved Deiric.

 

Laurei starts to scream.

 

Fox can feel the heat of the flames rising up his own pile but he ignores it. All of his willpower is spent trying to access his magic. He looks desperately as Deiric one last time.

 

Deiric’s face is contorted in pain. But his eyes are fixed on the fox boy. They are full of sorrow, regret, and apology. But what is most shocking to him, is the love he can see.

 

His vision goes red when the flames consume Deiric and a scream is wrenched from his body as his eyes burst with amber light.

 

The flames explode outwards from his pyre, burning with a savage, unnatural monstrosity. The flames devour the village greedily, eating the people and buildings without discrimination. The fire spreads, burning in a perfect circle for nearly a mile around the fox boy.

 

*****

 

Fox places the wreath of flowers on their ashes. One final sob wracks his body before he stumbles, barefooted and naked from the charred remains of the town, vanishing into the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

Dietrich allows his eyes to roam over the ballroom. He is bored. Bored of this lifestyle. Of being paraded around at social gatherings where noble men try to impress the noble women, all faking their personalities to match each other perfectly. 'It's lucky most of them are in it for social or wealth status because I imagine it would get quite awkward after the wedding night' Dietrich thought to himself, his lip curling up slightly.

The silly woman sitting next to him smiled in triumph, thinking she had finally received a reaction, but her smile soon plummeted to a scowl when he stood and fled to the balcony for some air. Moments later Coralline, his younger sister, joined him, leaning against the railing where they both stared out across the monumental gardens owned by whichever lord it was hosting this 'party'.

"Do you think mother will ever grow tired of dressing me up like a doll in a shop front?"

"Well sure... Once you find a nice girl to continue the family name. It's only us now, we need to preserve our legacy Dietrich." 

"I don't care about that. We should be focussing on restoring our estate, on getting our wealth back. What's the point of having a family name with not power or security with it?"

"Yeah, I know. She just wants to see you happy Dietrich. It's been hard on us all, and we all have our own methods of coping" Coralline scratches absentmindedly at the thin white scars along her arms, catching herself suddenly and rolling down her sleeve.

 

*****

 

Kit loves parties.

He loves the dancing. He loves the laughing. He loves socialising.

But most of all, he loves causing mischief.

Kit circles around the ballroom, searching for his prey. A quick gust of wind blows a lords hairpiece into his food, a well placed bump causes a lord to accidentally grope a powerful lady, a quick tickle causes a lady to sneeze her drink across the table. It was almost too easy to have fun when there were this many morons in a room.

Sighing with pleasure, Kit winks at a passing servant, causing the young boy to blush furiously before ploughing into a older lady and pouring hors d’oeuvres down her chest. Kit laughed as the lady began screaming at the poor boy. He might make it up to him later, in a broom closet or spare bedroom probably. Or perhaps if the boy was adventurous, underneath the long food tables.

He smiled at some young ladies who where fanning themselves at him. Perhaps he might even deflower a lord's daughter tonight. This was turning out to be a very good party. As he surveyed the hall, he noticed a man with dark hair and eyes, glaring out over the room and his heart stopped. 'It couldn't be him' Kit thought, reeling from the similarity of this man’s features, the way he held himself, the muscles, it was all the same.

Kit grabbed a glass of wine from a passing tray and gulped it down. Picking up another to sip at. The rush of alcohol was almost instant and he smiled with giddiness. He must be seeing things, a quick turn on the dance floor would hopefully clear his mind and body of excess adrenaline, help him see better. Kit readjusted the fox tails that where draped over his shoulder and made his way to the dance floor smiling brightly. 

 

*****

 

Coralline soon left Dietrich alone on the balcony, in pursuit of some young lord, so he just gazed over the moonlit grounds. He heard soft footsteps step outside. They falter briefly and there is a sharp intake of breath, whoever it is, their heart is rocketing. Derek tenses for an attack as the footsteps continue again, slowly approaching.

"Hi there" a nervous voice spoke, a boy, stopping a few feet away. Dietrich turned to survey the boy and had to bite his tongue to stop the snide dismissal he had prepared should he receive any company. The boy was beautiful, he had short hair, pale skin covered in moles, large amber eyes and he was chewing delicately on soft lips. He was dressed in a black silk doublet, with a fox pelt draped around his shoulders. His pants where incredulously tight with knee high riding boots. This boy was dressed for trouble and Dietrich had no qualms believing he was more than adept at getting it. Despite all of this there was something strangely familiar about the boy.

"Good evening." Dietrich said carefully, keeping his voice calm. "I'm sorry, do I know you? I swear we have met."

"Maybe not in this life" the boy said, flashing a bright smile at him, confidence growing "my name is Kit. It's a pleasure to meet you...?"

"Dietrich" Kit laughed lightly.

"Of course that's your name. So what are you doing out here? All alone..."

"I can't stand parties. Being dressed and paraded around for marriage. It's a ridiculous charade."

"Awww come on, parties are great! There is dancing and laughing! And then there are the girls, lords daughters who are so eager to misbehave. Or the lords sons even" Kit lets out an appreciative whistle and chuckles "well, let's just say its a wonder any children get born in this kingdom" Kit winks at a wide eyed Dietrich who blushes furiously and turns away.

"Well if you love parties so much, then why are you out here?" 

Kit shrugs "You reminded me of someone who used to be very dear to me." Dietrich scoffs.

"Was that your attempt to get me into your bed?" Kit raised his eyebrows and smiled as Dietrich's demeanour lightened.

"Well, I was actually being serious.... But if it was beneficial to my plan of bedding you than that's just a bonus!" 

Dietrich laughs brightly. A tenseness releases from within his chest and he feels lighter. The connection between the two of them is so strange. As they talk, they start mirroring each other without noticing. Then they start leaning closer together, Kit starts touching his arm lightly when he tells a joke. Dietrich’s face starts twitching with jealousy whenever Kit brings up a funny story involving a former lover.

For the first time, Dietrich finds himself completely comfortable. But he still can’t shake the feeling that he has met this man before.

In a moment of silence, they find themselves staring at the moon shining in the night sky. Dietrich turns and watches Kit, his face open and pure, bathed in moonlight. Without thinking, he finds himself leaning forwards, his lips a bare second away from making contact when a voice calls out.

“Dietrich?!” Kit turns his face towards the noise, coming face to face with Dietrich and startling at the proximity.

A young girl strides towards them with a huge smile breaking her face “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, interrupt anything.” She says, Dietrich blushes and tried to hide his face, but Kit goes pale at the sight of her.

“Laurei?!” he breathes. Dietrich and Coralline stare at him with wide eyes.

“Uhhhhh.... No, I’m Coralline. Actually.” She looks at Dietrich, then back at Kit “Laura died a few years ago. She was with my dad in the mines when a shaft collapsed.”

“Oh god...no...” Kit collapses to his knees, his hands on his head.

“How did you know Laura?” Dietrich asks quietly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“I...I knew her when I was younger. We were close friends. But it seems like a lifetime ago now.” Kit breathes in deeply and pulls himself back up, holding Dietrich’s arm for support.

“I’m sorry. I think I need another drink. It’s been great talking to you.” Kit smiles as Dietrich and then makes hast back inside, immediately sculling a glass of wine from a passing servant.

Coralline walks over and takes her brother’s hand, squeezing slightly. The look on his face is torn between torment of the past and heartbreak from watching Kit leave.

“Brother... where you about to kiss that boy?” Coralline keeps her face blank, she knows what a rumour like this can do to ones reputation, so she gives him the benefit of the doubt first.

Dietrich looks at her confused, then horrified before his face closes off completely. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He mutters, dropping her hand and stalking inside.

Coralline sighs and leans against the balcony railing, watches her mother approach with a bemused expression on her face. When she sits beside her, Coralline simply sighs deeper.

“Boys. They are so weird...”

Her mother just laughs.

 

*****

 

Dietrich finds Kit sitting in an alcove on the second floor of the mansion. His face was streaked with tears and there was half a bottle of wine on the floor next to him. He slides down the wall next to them so their shoulders are touching. He reaches over Kit and grabs the bottle of wine, Kit draws in an unsteady breath. Pulling back his arm, Dietrich takes a long draw from the bottle.

“How do you know Laura?” Kit begins to protest but Dietrich cuts him off “I would definitely remember someone like you from my childhood. I spent almost all of my time around Laura. And... I feel like I have heard her called Laurei before, but, I don’t remember it.”

“You will probably think I am crazy...”

“I promise I won’t.” Kit sighs deeply.

“I’ve met you before. You and... Laura.” Kit looks into Dietrich’s eyes “I met you in a previous life.”

“Is this why you seem so familiar to me? Why I keep having flashbacks?” He gestures between them “Because we knew each other in a past life?”

“Yes... and no. You knew me in _your_ past life. I... I have known you twice in my life. I have _loved_ you twice.”

“How long ago did you first meet me?”

“One hundred years.” His breath shudders “I only knew you for a year before I watched you die. Watched you both die.”

Dietrich puts his hand on Kit’s chin and gently guides their lips together. Light flashes beneath their closed lids and Dietrich is reeling back, his eyes glowing a burning orange and his pupils fully dilated.

A few moments later, Dietrich’s vision refocusses to see Kit kneeling over him, a terrified expression on his face.

“Fox?” he mutters with confusion, watching the tension melt from Kit’s face into an expression of sheer joy.

“Deiric! Dietrich you remember?”

Dietrich pulls Kit into a rough kiss, his body tight against his own.

“Oh” Kit breathes, “oh right. Talk later. Come on then.” Standing, Kit grabs Dietrich by his collar and pulls him into the first door they find, a broom closet.

Before he has time to react, Kit is on his knees in front of him, hands creeping up his stomach, eyes staring at him with a mischievous gleam.

“I have to warn you” Kit unbuttons Dietrich’s pants and reaches a hand in to grasp his hardening member “I have learnt a few new tricks”.

With a sly wink, Kit pulls Dietrich’s cock and pumps his fist around it. Slowly his kisses the head, traces down the shaft with feather light kisses, before licking a strip back up to the top, causing Dietrich to moan loudly.

Dietrich bites his fist to keep from crying out when Kit takes him in his mouth, sliding slowly down Dietrich’s shaft with ease, maintaining an intense eye contact the whole time. Kit’s throat opens around him with ease until his nose is buried in Dietrich’s crotch. Kit sucks down around Dietrich’s cock before pulling back with a small slurp. One hand comes up to massage Dietrich’s balls as he moves his head back and forth along the shaft.

A growl rips through Dietrich and he clutches on to a nearby shelf, crushing the wood in his grip. Kit pulls back, sucking the head, massaging it with his tongue while his other hand pumps the slick shaft. Dietrich could feel a pressure building, electricity was racing through his body, his toes curling with pleasure.

“Kit... I’m going to” he growls out, clenching his hands on the wood even tighter when Kit increases his actions with renewed fervour. Dietrich, panting heavily, brings his arm up and bites it, drawing blood as his orgasm blasts through him.

Dietrich’s eyes glow as he watches Kit swallow his seed, growling in approval.

Kit stands up and kisses Dietrich with salty lips. They stand for a while with their foreheads pressed together, simply breathing each other in.

Eventually Kit steps back, grabs a rag off one of the shelves and daps a little gingerly at the wet patch on his own trousers. Another quick kiss after Dietrich fixes his clothes and the two of them slip back into the hallway.

“So, you remembered your name?” Dietrich asks.

Kit smiles “Not exactly. But I know what I am. I figured out I am a Kitsune, which is a sort of, fox shape shifter, spirit thing... but the point is I figured Kit was a better name than Fox”

“Oh. Right yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Dietrich grabs Kit’s hand and begins to lead him downstairs “Come on. I want you to meet my mother.”

 

*****

 

Talia and Coralline are standing by a large crystal punch bowl, talking and laughing to a group of young lords when Talia spots her son, sporting a ridiculously large smile and towing a young boy behind him.

“Excuse me gentleman, I believe my son seeks an audience” She smiles as she leaves, Coralline tailing after her to intercept Dietrich.

“Mother! Mother, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Kit” Dietrich says, pulling Kit to a stop in front of his mother and sister.

“Pleasure to meet you...”

“Talia please”.

“Talia... right, it’s a pleasure.”

“Mhmm, and how do you know my son?” Dietrich blushes slightly but Kit just smiles.

“I met him in one of his part incarnations” At this Dietrich and Coralline stare at him in schock, but Talia just laughs brightly.

“You’re bold. I like that. Well met Kitsune.” She pauses to look at Coralline, for a moment before turning back to Kit “I assume, that is why you also mistook my daughter here?”

“Yes. Laurei, as she was called, was also a very close friend of mine. We all travelled together for some time.”

“Well, I hope you will someday tell me about your journeys. I am most interested to hear from a creature renowned for it’s wisdom.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Dietrich was beaming with pride at the ease of which Kit was getting along with his mother, which Talia noticed of course.

“Well, we shall leave this conversation till a later date, right now I think you two should dance!”

“What?” Dietrich startles “Isn’t that a bit... well...”

“Nonsense. It’s your birthday at midnight and you should enjoy yourself. No sense in keeping up your appearance of eligibility when you have clearly found a potential mate.”

Kit’s eyes go wide and he looks at Dietrich, who appears just as stunned. How had he not seen it, felt his wolf side howling in triumph. This was his mate.

Beaming Dietrich grabs Kit’s hand and swirls him towards the dance floor. Dietrich leads Kit around the floor, their bodies pressed tightly together and their eyes glued to each other. Kit laughs with delight as they soar past the offended faces of old nobles, the shocked gasps of the proper ladies and the occasional cheer from a usually unseen source.

They are together without a care and it is amazing.

“Happy birthday” Kit whispers, placing a gentle kiss on Dietrich’s lips.

The clock strikes midnight and the first tremor shakes the building.

The music slows to a halt and silence falls over the ballroom. The second tremor is much stronger, bookcases and tables shake and tip, falling on a few unfortunate party guests.

Dietrich grabs Kit’s hand and they sprint for the door. Panicked guests are screaming and fleeing, a servant trips and is trampled underfoot, a large support beam falls from the roof and crushes a group of older lords and ladies.

When they are out on the balcony, Dietrich looks back in time to see the grand chandelier snap from its chains and fall, as it crashes to the ground, the discordant music of shattering glass is underplayed by a woman’s scream. Dietrich’s eyes widen as he see Coralline desperately trying to clear the twisted chandelier off Talia’s legs. Both women are bleeding, studded by shards of glass and Coralline is crying out for help.

Dietrich runs for them, batting people out of his way in his haste. Kit is right behind him, his illusions dropped, the boy’s fox ears are tuned for telltale sounds of collapse and his twin tails stream out behind him.

When they reach the two women, Dietrich hauls the chandelier off his mother while Kit and Coralline drag her forward from under it. The building groans as a third tremor shudders through the earth. A pair of giant marble pillars collapse against each other in front of the exits as large chunks of the roof begin to fall.

Kit looks around wildly. How can this be possible? How could life be so cruel to rip Dietrich from him again? What has Dietrich done to deserve this? Kit had to save them somehow.

The four of them huddled in the centre of the room, watching the building collapse around them. A great tearing sound was heard as the floor began to part, a huge gash splitting through the tiles.

Kit grabs Dietrich’s hand and pulls him into a rough kiss.

“I will find you. I will always find you.” He whispers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up this weekend. But after that there will be a short break because I have an exam next week :D
> 
> Thank you all for reading,  
> Love Nick


	3. Chapter 3

Kit stood on the balcony, watching over the Lord’s lands. He felt a shiver race down his spine, though he felt no cold beneath his magic aura which covered him like fur.

A hand brushed gently up his bare arm, across his shoulder to lightly caress his neck. Kit leant into the touch, yet a deep part of him screamed that this was wrong. He turned to face the man behind him. Tall and lithe, with slicked back brown hair and stunning blue eyes, his wide smile was laced with danger. It was a predator’s smile.

“Come now Kit, how can I convince you? How can I prove to you that I am Dietrich? Deiric? I have been with you always and I will continue to be with you.” A small sigh as he moves closer “Just let me show you.”

“Look... Peter, was it?... I don’t doubt that you have had visions. But I am not sure it can be of us. I have always been able to feel him. I can sense Deiric. I always have. And while I can feel him in this land, I do not feel him on this balcony. I just...”

Peter silences him with a kiss. It is gentle, too sweet, it feels so good. His tongue moves like liquid silver. There is a sudden piercing pain at the back of Kit’s head and his eyes are swimming with visions of Deiric and Dietrich. Of the two of them together and happy, visions of the end.

Kit finds himself crying as he clutches against Peter. Peter smiles into the night as Kit repeats in sobbing chokes.

“It is you.”

 

*****

 

Kit stands before his husband’s throne. His three tails flare out behind him in a proud display, his fox ears tucked between brown wavy locks. Peter preferred Kit to be open about himself. He displays him in court like a prized trophy.

Kit can’t help but love it. After spending so long hidden away, being chased off by farmers and hunter’s dogs. He loves the attention the court gives him, he preens in the looks of fascination and adoration. Whenever he is allowed, Kit spends his time in the small village under Lord Peter’s protection, playing with the children and letting them stroke his tails.

Peter often strokes his tails as well. In court, he is possessive, curling the fine hair through his fingers. In the bedroom, he is forceful, gripping his tails tight enough to bruise, using them to thrust himself harder into Kit.

It’s not the same. At least Kit thinks it isn’t. He had only met Deiric twice before, he was gentle and loving. Peter is... rough, demanding and possessive. But surely, just because the soul is the same, doesn’t mean the body can’t be different right? Possessiveness might just be how he loves. He lost a lot as a child, maybe he is just terrified of losing even more. But... Deiric and Dietrich had both lost family when they were young. But Kit still loves Peter... doesn’t he?

But Kit was more than just a trophy husband. Peter kept no guards near him, saying  it is to encourage traitors to make a move. Many men have tried, Peter was not always the most caring lord. Many men have also found the screams of outrage choked off as the air leaves their body. Many men have found their feet leave the ground. Many men have been dragged to the dungeons paralysed.

Many men have seen the fury flash through Kit’s eyes, fuelling his magic.

And each time Peter just laughs. Laughs like a child playing with his favourite toys.

And every time, Kit’s shoulders hunch a little lower, and his mirth dims a little more.

 

*****

 

Peter begins to withdraw from Kit. He stays up late at night, pouring over financial documents. Reading ancient tomes filled with family trees.

After a few nights of sneaking into Kit’s bed in the early mornings, of using him and falling asleep, Peter eventually stopped coming at all.

“What is wrong Peter?” Kit confronted him one night, tailing him into his library “Would you just talk to me? For god’s sake I am your husband, I deserve to know if there is something wrong!”

“Go to bed Kit. This is court business, do not worry yourself with it.”

“I am not worried about it, I am worried about you!” Kit shakes his head “God, if you really are Deiric then you would just let me in!”

The growl continued to echo through the chamber as Kit hit the ground, his face burning from the force of the strike. Peter was standing over him, eyes glowing red.

“I thought we had passed this. I thought you trusted me?” Peter sighs “You know I hate hurting you, but you hurt me when you tell me that I am not the man you loved. Do you know how it feels to be told that two life times of love are worth nothing?”

Kit flinched as Peter kneels and embraces him, peppering his face with kisses. Peter led Kit back to his bedroom.

They fucked and early morning when Peter thought Kit was asleep, he crept from the room.

Tears glistened in the moonlight on Kit’s face.

 

*****

 

The first time he saw the boy was in court. While standing in front of a particularly bored Peter, kit was staring vacantly into the crowd.

A flash of blue catches his eye and he spots a cheeky grin, a dirty face and a long mop of matted black hair. Kit looks away after a second. He is unable to motivate himself to care about the boy. He was probably just some street urchin here to pick the pockets of court nobles.

Kit looks up as Peter makes a decision and a young man is dragged from the court screaming. An elder man, his father perhaps, screams and draws a knife, running towards the throne.

Kit watches the man as he gets closer to Peter, who simply cocks an eyebrow. When he is within five steps of Peter, Kit lazily flicks his hand towards the man.

A gasp of shock goes through the court and Kit turns and strides calmly out of it.

When he steps from the room, the man’s body drops from where it had been suspended in the air, every bone in his body twisted in its place under the skin. He falls as a sickening abomination.

Peter does not laugh. He just smiles wolfishly.

 

*****

 

“Why so glum? Isn’t this your party?” a servant asks while pouring Kit another drink, her long blonde hair falling down her shoulder.

Kit glares at her.

“Aren’t servants meant to have their hair up and NOT talk to the guests?”

The girl lets out a low whistle “Touchy aren’t we? Well, your eminence, I am not a servant, I just stole this jug of wine from one because I _thought_ the birthday boy needed some liquid cheer.” The girl pours herself a glass of wine “I’m Erica by the way.”

“Look, Erica. You may not have noticed but a) I am not really in the mood to interact with people, b) I have a distinctly male husband, so if this is some attempt to seduce me it’s not looking good already and c) I am at the party honouring me, thrown by said husband who is a powerful lord with a jealous streak and many empty dungeons.”

“Woah woah okay cool it foxy. I am only here for my friend who is too shy to talk to you himself.” She hold her hands out flat towards him “And I am starting to see why anyone should be scared to talk to you.”

“Just go away.” Kit huffs.

Erica sits for a while in silence, before quietly asking “Are you alright? We haven’t seen you in the village for a while, you used to be so happy and fun...”

“Peter” Kit spits the name out “doesn’t allow me to go to the village anymore.”

“Do you... do you maybe want to come party with some of us? A small group of us have smuggled some wine casks down into the garden. Come on it will be fun.”

“I can’t, Peter will know I am...”

“In case _you_ didn’t notice, your darling husband snuck out of the party over an hour ago.”

Kit spins to glare at the now empty dais.

“Oh that mother fucker. Where is this party?” He turns back to Erica, the anger in his eyes is mingled with a mischievous glint.

“Right this way m’lord.” Kit laughs as Erica takes him through the large glass doors that lead to the garden maze.

 

*****

 

As they entered a clearing in the maze where several young men and women were drinking, singing and dancing around a small fire, Kit felt Deiric’s presence so strong that it made him feel sick. He scanned the assembled faces frantically but could see no sign of Peter, or Deiric.

Several of the secret party guests noticed him on entry. A boy with olive skin, a crooked jaw and bright eyes smiled on seeing him and nudged a tall girl next to him, a beauty with long brown hair and eyes sharp as a hawk who scanned Kit methodically. Further back beside the stolen casks where two brown skinned boys, one was tall, well built and bald. The other was the boy he had seen in court that day. Long curled black hair, dark skin and bright green eyes staring at Kit, a brilliant smile lighting up his face. Erica puts her fingers to her mouth and whistles loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Hey everyone, this is Kit, the birthday boy of that pathetic excuse of a party up in the castle. Let’s make his trip down here worth it and show him a _real_ party!” A round of cheers goes up among the crowd and people begin crowding round to wish Kit happy birthday and pull him into the revelry.

Within a few minutes Kit is laughing, drinking and dancing with the crowd. They spin and twirl around each other, he barely sees his partner before being whirled to the next one.

After a few more drinks, Kit begins to entertain some of them with a few magic tricks, dangling fairy lights from branches and people, juggling objects with his mind and causing air currents to blow pieces of clothes off the occasional unsuspecting guest.

Scott and Allison, the boy with the crooked jaw and his hunter girlfriend began to tell tales of their travels, hilarious situations where they have been trapped or chased. After re-enacting how Scott got himself caught in his own snare once, Kit stumbles for more wine, panting from the laughter.

He leans against the kegs, drink in hand and a huge smile on his face, drinking in the scene before him. All his time spent with Peter and he has never felt this happy.

But the whole time, the feeling of Deiric’s presence weighed down on him. Just as he grew quiet and pensive, a small voice speaks up from beside him.

“Isn’t this fun? I mean, you look like you are having fun... I hope you are having fun.” And awkward pause as the boy seems to withdraw under Kit’s entertained gaze “You are having fun right?”

“Yes I am having fun. This is wonderful. The most fun I have had in years in fact.” The dark skinned boy beams at him, green eyes lighting up “What’s your name?”

“Demeter.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He smiles as the boy’s dark cheeks take on a rosy tinge. “Are you from around these parts?”

“No, most of us travel together, we are actually with the circus in town...”

“The circus is in town?! I can’t believe Peter didn’t tell me!” at the mention of his husband, Demeter lowers his head and starts to step away from him. “No, wait! Sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned him. We aren’t exactly on good terms at the moment...” he trails off to look up at the castle. “So how long are you in town for?”

“We leave tomorrow actually.”

“What? That’s terrible, I didn’t even get to see the animals” Kit pouts and crosses his arms. “I wish all of you had found me sooner, you are all so fun.”

“Yeah, they are wonderful. Erica said she wouldn’t let us leave before I talked to you...” Demeter cuts himself off with a shocked expression, as if betrayed by his own mouth.

Kit just laughs brightly “Well I am glad she did! I would have lamented not having met you, I am sure. I don’t know what it is, but you all seem familiar to me somehow, although I am sure I have not met any of you before!”

“Perhaps we will be significant in your future? My mother always said that you get a feeling of old friendship from those whose destined path crosses your own.” Kit smiles.

“I would very much like for you all to be significant in the future. Although I believe that would require your troupe staying in town for longer...” Demeter looks downcast.

“We can always make tonight significant...” he says in a whisper, shy eyes flickering up to meet Kit’s.

Kit smiles and leans forward to place a kiss on his cheek. The other boy’s eyes bug and he puts a hand to his face, fingers stroking the spot gently. Kit smiles and takes his other hand, leading him out one of the labyrinth’s arches into the confines of the maze.

When they reach a stone statue, Kit gently pushes Demeter to lean against the base of the statue, leaning in to kiss him softly. Demeter is shy at first, clumsy and awkward with shock, but soon melts into the kiss, hands gently pulling kit closer, aligning their bodies.

Kit’s long tails swish up to curl around the other boy as the kissing becomes more heated and passionate. He gently lowers one hand to cup Demeter’s growing erection, the other boy gasping at the pressure.

Kit’s other hand undoes his pants, pulling a small vial of oil from his pocket. Demeter is breathing heavily, his hands gently tracing over Kit’s back, up his stomach, lightly flicking his nipples through his thin shirt. Kit moans into the kiss, coating his fingers in oil and lightly massaging a finger into himself.

Demeter pushes Kit back slightly, going to his knees to bring Kit’s pants down, before undoing his own and releasing his cock. He takes Kit’s and his own members in hand and strokes them, at first setting and awkward pace without rhythm, but soon picking up a steady beat.

Kit moans and kisses him roughly again. Before either boy can finish, he pushes Demeter’s hands away and pours a small amount of oil onto Demeter’s cock, stroking it softly to get an even coat.

Kit raises one leg onto the base of the statue and guides Demeter’s dick toward him, the boy grasping onto Kit’s thigh to add support. He slowly pushes inside, the two of them shifting slightly to fit better, and begins to the thrust forward lightly.

As Demeter picks up speed, he thrusts deeper and begins to hum lightly, a deep low growling sound that vibrates through Kit’s bones. Demeter grabs Kit’s other leg suddenly with one arm and pull him up, bracing his other arm behind Kit’s back. Once up, he places both arms on Kit’s arse as Kit puts his own arms around Demeter’s neck and begins to bounce slightly.

They pick up speed, every thrust bringing forth moans from both boys and the slapping sound of their flesh filling the clearing. In the background they can still hear the revelry of the maze party, but it is dull and muted. There is only the rush of heat in their ears, the pulse of their hearts beating in time with each other.

Demeter shifts more of Kit’s weight onto him by leaning back against the statues base and the angle of his thrusting changes slightly, suddenly hitting Kit’s prostrate and sending a jolt of pleasure through his body.

Crying out, Kit bows his head into the crook of Demeter’s neck and bites down lightly. Another thrust and a white light flashes behind his eyes as he orgasms, his body clenches with the pleasure shock and he bites harder on Demeter’s shoulder, causing the larger boy to shudder and falter his thrusting. A warm heat fills Kit’s body and both boys are left panting, covered in sweat.

Demeter helps to lower kit to the ground, before gently kissing him once more. Kit pulls out a handkerchief and carefully wipes clean the mess he made on Demeter’s chest and smiles up at him.

They slowly dress themselves in between light kisses and smiles. Turning to leave the clearing and head back to the party.

As they enter the maze, they hear the sounds of revelry suddenly stop, replaced by loud shouting and screaming. The sound of dogs barking sends a shiver down Kit’s spine.

He grabs Demeter’s hand, turns and runs the other way, pulling the boy along with him.

 

*****

 

Kit and Demeter emerge from the far side of the maze and race across the fields that tretch before the castle. The sound of barking is closer and soon the sound of horses’ hooves reaches their ears.

The sounds draw closer, filling Kit’s ears as the adrenaline floods his brain. He can’t think of anything but running, of pulling the dark boy along with him.

Kit’s legs pound as hard as they can but a sudden force rips his shoulder forward and he tumbles to the ground with Demeter in front of him, an arrow sticking out from the boy’s shoulder.

“NO!” Kit screams, grabbing the arrow and ripping it out, he cups his hands over the wound and feels the magic pour through him, sealing it closed in an instant.

The horses come to a stop and Kit is suddenly pulled by two men away from Demeter. Peter’s own horse comes into view and Kit watches the man swing down from it.

“Now then Kit, what am I to make of this? I find you here, running away from me, smelling like the slave you have in tow? It’s certainly not a proper thing for a husband to do, now is it?” Peter’s voice is as smooth as a serpent as he strides towards Kit. He pinches Kit’s face and kisses him roughly, sharpened teeth drawing blood from Kit’s soft mouth. “I couldn’t possibly stay mad at you, my darling pet. But I will have to punish the boy for defiling you of course.”

“You stay away from him! This was my choice!” Kit screams at Peter, watching with wide eyes as Peter stalks towards Demeter, pulling a dagger from his belt. Peter kicks Demeter, rolling him onto his back, grabbing his hair and pulling him up to look into his eyes.

“You shouldn’t have done that boy.” He says coldly, bringing the knife to Demeter’s throat. Demeter’s eyes dart to Kit who struggles against his guard. The fear in the boy’s eyes sends a spike of dread into Kit’s stomach. Peter roars at the boy before him and Kit can feel the magic bubbling up inside of him.

The guards are thrown backwards and Kit is moving across the grass in flash when Peter’s dagger glints and a deep red smile appears on Demeter’s throat. Kit screams as the blood sprays forward and covers his face, burning with a searing pain as his mind is filled with the memories of his Deiric’s past lives.

Demeter’s eyes glow blue as the life drains from his body and Kit howls in pain, suddenly there to clutch the boy’s lifeless head before it can hit the ground.

Peter straightens up and walks away from them, wiping his dagger on one of his guard’s tunics before swinging himself back onto his horse.

“Come now Kit. Let’s return to the castle and forget about this nonsense.” Kit raises his head, eyes burning a molten gold when he glares at Peter.

“You. Are. Not. Deiric.” He growls out, lowering Demeter to the ground before straightening up, fingers glowing with energy. “You _lied_ to me!”

“Yes. I did. And now, you will do as you are told and come back to the castle this instant.” Peter snaps, impatiently fiddling with his horses’ reins.

“You actually think I would come with you willingly?! After you killed the man I have always loved in front of my eyes!” Kit is breathing heavily, his head is splitting and the power within him is barely contained, the grass around his feet wilting and burning to ash. “HIS BLOOD IS STILL WARM!”

“Whether I tricked you or not, you are still my husband, you belong to me!” Kit laughs, a cruel and bitter sound which causes Peter to flinch, uncertainty crossing his eyes for the first time.

“You moron. The only thing that has kept me from killing you... was the thought that you where Deiric.” He gestures at the body behind him “but now that I know that isn’t true...” Kit smiles with an evil glint in his eyes. Peter turns his horse and begins to gallop away.

Peter makes it a few meters before a blur of movement crosses in front of him and his horse collapses to the ground. Peter rolls away, looking back to see a gaping wound where his horse’s throat had been torn out.

Turning, Peter stumbles to his feet, preparing to run and is confronted with Kit.

Kit stands before him, eyes glowing like fire, one arm is red, still holding a large chunk of his horse’s throat, the rest of his body splatter with a mist of blood. Kit drops the gory chunk of flesh and raises his hands towards Peter, fingertips glowing like coals.

“You condemned an innocent man to death” Kit calls out, voice thrumming with power “So I condemn you to experience that man’s suffering, from all of his lives”

Light flashes out as Peter is raised from the ground, his skin begins to dry and cracks of light appear as his insides burn, his bones begin to break and shatter as the weight of a collapsing mansion pushes down on him and his throat is torn open to a wicked red gleaming smile.

 

*****

 

The next morning, Erica stumbles upon a mangled, burnt body, lying in a circle of dead grass. She shares a look with Scott and Allison, before turning back and crying out in horror.

Demeter Lies further on, his arms cross over his chest, a wreath of blood red flower placed upon his brow. His throat smiling cruelly at the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took so long. I ha terrible time management skills last week, and then I decided to change the order of my story slightly plus add more things so my plan got a bit lost. but here it is at last!
> 
> I won't make a promised date for the next chapter to save letting you guys down again, but it shouldn't be too long.
> 
> <3 you all, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. This chapter is longer and slightly sad. Also unedited because I wanted to get it posted quickly, so please point out mistakes if you see them.

Sparks fly as steel crashes against steel. Derek's heart beats in time with the hammer, beads of sweat coat his body, glistening in the orange glow of the forge. He flattens the steel out, thrusts it back in the flames and pumps the billows, drawing out when it is red hot and begins to pound it again.  
  
As he works, a shape begins to emerge. The rough edges of raw steel become refined, delicate curves and bends, tapered points and a strong base. With the shape complete, Derek polishes and buffs it, before adding fine silver scrollwork and filigree, finally twisting leather tightly around the hilt.  
  
With a sigh, he places the finished piece on the counter and gives it an appraising stare.  
  
A low whistle startles him, the owner chuckling at the scowl that scrunches Derek's face.  
  
"Wow. The way you work that metal..." The boy sighs appreciatively "anyone would think you where making a sword instead of a candelabra for Lady Martin."  
  
"Who the hell are you?" Derek grumbles, 'and how the hell do you know what making a sword looks like?' he thinks.  
  
"My name is... You probably can't pronounce it, just call me Kit I am here to pick up Lady Martin's order. And let's just say I have experience with forge men and their swords" Kit answers Derek’s unspoken question with a wink, who narrows his eyes and glares back.  
  
"Fine. She payed in advance. Take it and go."  
  
Derek stalks away further into the workshop, leaving the boy standing there, a confused and hurt expression on his face. Derek ignores it.  
  
*****

Kit walks into the entrance hall of Lady Lydia Martin’s manor, places the candelabra on a side table and huffs towards his bedchambers, collapsing on the bed with a defeated sigh.

A few minutes later, Lydia strides into the room admiring the candelabra in her hand, she opens her mouth to make some remark on the excellent quality but stops when she sees Kit.

“What happened?” she asks softly, perching beside him on the bed.”Did he not recognise you?”

“No. I mean I knew he wouldn’t. He never does. But... he didn’t even care who I was. It was like he was repulsed by me. Normally we are drawn to each other...” Kit trails off, rolling on his back to stare forlornly at the ceiling.

“Honey, these are troubled times. Surely you have seen it? All the old practices are being cast out, anything that goes against the church is branded a sin.” She sighs and pats his knee “This is no time period for the likes of you and me. Men are not meant to lie with other men, women are meant to be submissive and housebound, not run successful estates. Times are changing, and we are failing to adapt.”

“Surely it can’t stay like this forever though!” Kit says, sitting up next to her, his voice slightly frantic “How many countless religions have we seen rise and fall together? How can this one have such a lasting hold?”

“I know not, but it has been here for some time, and I have the feeling that these morons around us shall continue following these teachings for some time yet.” She stands and looks out the window, watching a small crowd forming around a street preacher.

“Look how they submit. They are so willing to throw themselves into ignorance.” Kit says glumly. Lydia just sighs.

“Now about Derek, it is highly likely that he has suppressed his ‘urges’ for most of his life out of fear. You can’t simply expect him to come running into your arms... you need him to trust you first. And I get the feeling that flirting with him has placed you at a disadvantage.”

Kit opens his mouth to protest, but after a moment of thought closes it again.

“How did you even know that?”

“You can’t help yourself. What did you say exactly?”

“I just said it looked like he was making a sword...” he says before mumbling “and that I have experience with men and swords...”

“You imbecile! About a year ago some thugs broke into the forge and stole the swords Derek and his father made and used them to kill most of his family. His sister is still in the hospice in a coma!” Lydia sighs “That’s why he has a vow to never make weapons again...”

“Oh god... I had no idea...” Kit deflates completely and Lydia sits back down to pat his back sympathetically. “What do you suggest I do m’lady?”

“You are going to woo him. And also get a job...”

“What? Why?!” Kit cries out, a look of indignant shock twisting his face.

“Because wooing him is going to require buying a lot of blacksmith goods and I am sure as hell not paying for it all. I have an estate to maintain you know.” She stands primly and straightens the creases from her dress “Now get dressed, I happen to be close friends with the owner of the apothecary across from Derek’s forge.”

*****

Derek locks away his tools, pushes through the back door of the forge into his own living area. Derek grabs a small pack, fills it with food and some coins. He grabs a book from a shelf and heads out the front door.

Derek locks the door and shoulders his pack and takes long strides into the streets. It’s not long before he reaches the hospice, opening the door to warmth and low light.

A nurse nods at him as he walks through the corridors. He doesn’t have to think about it as he turns into a room. He’s been here every day since the accident.

Derek sits at a table and begins to pull food out of his bag, he makes himself a plain meal and begins talking.

He tells Laura about his day, about the strange boy who is probably going to get himself beaten in an alley, about the orders he filled, about the strange folk he saw passing through the streets.

When he finishes eating and talking, he pulls his book out and reads to her by candle light.

A nurse finds him well into the night, lying asleep in his chair, the book propped on his lap. She releases a sad sigh, carefully taking the book and placing it on the table before draping a blanket over him.

She walks to the bed and checks on Laura. Laura’s eyes were moving slightly beneath her lids, a good sign, but improvement was still slow. The coma had the poor girl in a steady grip, and her brother could only watch as it pulled her further away.

*****

Derek makes two matching candlesticks the following week. Then a new set of brass door knockers. A decorative plaque with the Martin family crest. A set of fine silverware.

Each time Lady Martin’s request gets more extravagant, and each time the gangly, spritely boy with the unnerving stare is cheerfully waiting to pick it up.

By the end of the third week, Lady Martin had spent more money in his forge than any client ever had before. Even more than the church, who only paid half the time anyway.

Then the orders started to come through the boy himself. Kit.

Kit would come flouncing in to the forge, brushing his dainty fingers over all the tools and equipment, sighing like he was touching a lover. Derek glared at him every time.

The requests took a turn towards ridiculous extravagance. Kit would spin on the spot, tapping his chin, thinking as he rattled off orders.

First it was a wolf necklace, so large and detailed that it could not be worn without the owner falling on their face at the slightest incline. After that Kit asked for several statues of wolves and foxes playing together, requesting all sorts of metals which Derek had some trouble acquiring.

Derek never questioned. He never budged. He glared as the boy prattled on about fine details, he took the payment and he made whatever ridiculous fancy the boy invented.

He also never admitted how beautiful these ideas became, how well Kit’s mind could utilise Derek’s hands...

No. He would never admit that.

*****

The bell chimes above the door when Derek enters, he glares briefly at the offending tinkle, before surveying the shelves around him full of ingredients and herbs. With a raised eyebrow, Derek tilts a jar with what looks like a pickled hand, shaking his head, he walks to the counter and impatiently flicks the bell on the counter.

A muffled voice yells from the back room followed by an ungodly crash.

Derek’s eyebrows drop from amused into annoyed as Kit comes stumbling out from the back area, dusting several coloured powders off of himself. When Kit notices Derek, his eyes light up and he smiles brightly, for a second, the powder floating off him seems to get caught in unseen currents, swirling briefly upwards before continuing to fall.

“Heyyyyyy... Derek...” Kit seems flustered for a moment, staring at Derek with a vacant expression until Derek clears his throat awkwardly.

“Right. Right, yeah. Sorry, how can I help you?” Derek grunts slightly.

“Do you have anything for migraines?”

“Uhhhh...” Kit hops over the counter, and darts to a nearby shelf, running his fingers along the rows of bottles. Finally he finds the correct bottle and holds it up in triumph “Ok, well, Deaton usually uses these pills, and they do work of course, Deaton’s recipe after all.” Kit walks over to the counter and pulls out a small book with pricing and dosing information.

“But?” Derek asks slowly, quirking an eyebrow at Kit.

“Hmm?” Kit looks up at him.

“You made it seem like you know something that works better?”

“Oh... I mean... I do my own research, but I am not actually meant to suggest it to customers honestly...”

“Does it work?”

“Well, of course it does. I made it after all. And I can tell you where to find it for free...”

“Show me.”

“Really?!” Kit’s mouth opens slightly, but as soon as Derek starts to frown he jumps into action, pulling a mortar and pestle and several jars of ingredients out onto the counter. “Okay, right so, all you will need is some hot water and willow bark. There is a tree down by the river, just next to the bridge, you can grab some easily enough.”

“So what’s all this for?” Derek gestures at the ingredients that Kit is vigorously grinding together.

“This, is because it tastes like shit on it’s own and I want you to feel the effects before you brush it off as useless. When you do this, you just have to make tea with it and it will do the same thing.”

Kit puts the ground up paste into a strainer and pours hot water through it into a small cup, offering it to Derek.

Derek sniffs it cautiously before downing it.

“Oh, no wait that’s boiling...hot...right...”

Derek closes his eyes as the heat travels down his throat. He sighs in relief as the pressure behind his eyes dissolves almost instantly, a delicious sweet aftertaste left on his tongue.

“Wow. That is amazing.” Derek smiles and Kit’s jaw drops. “How much do I owe you?”

“For my trade secret? It’s a freebie. Just consider yourself part of my human trials testing.”

“Right. Thanks...Um...” Derek, looks around, and Kit begins awkwardly putting away ingredients. “Yeah, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hmm?” Kit stops his motions with a startled look, something that Derek notices he does a lot.

“Your frame. It will be finished by tomorrow.”

“Oh. Right yeah. Great, I will pick up Lady Martin’s frame tomorrow.”

They stare at each other for a moment before the door chimes and another customer walks in. They both clear their throat awkwardly and Kit turns to the newcomer.

“Hey there, let me know if you need any help.”

“Anyway” Derek opens the door to leave, pausing again “Don’t forget _your_ frame.”

*****

“Derek?” Kit calls out when he enters the forge.

“It’s under the cloth on the table.” Derek replies. Kit hears tools being placed down and Derek soon emerges from the back area, looking at him expectantly.

Turning to the closest bench, Kit sees a large rectangular shape under a soft grey cloth. Kit takes a deep breath and carefully pulls the cloth off the frame, gasping in awe at the sight of it.

A frame of dark brown mountain ash wood with filigree gold inlays lay before him. The frame was covered in small foxes and wolves, playing in mixed packs together. The foxes where made out of burnished gold and the wolves out of polished silver.

Kit stood with his mouth open for several minutes. The more he watched, the more lifelike the creatures became and he was absolutely entranced. Finally tearing his eyes away from the bottom of the frame, his eyes trailed up the sides.

The further up the huge frame he went, the more human the foxes and wolves became, their forms lengthening, standing, hands forming out of paws.

Kit cried out silently when his eyes reached the top. Perched on a gnarled throne made out of the wood itself, sat a man with fox ears and nine tails fanning out behind him. Next to him, sat another man with wolf ears and clawed hands, a wolf pelt draped around his shoulders.

“Oh my god” Kit whispers “Derek this is beautiful. This is like nothing I could have ever imagined...”

“I...I don’t know where I got the inspiration truthfully. It just... happened.” Derek rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably.

The truth was he didn’t know. It was almost like he made it in a trance, memories of places he had not been, people he had never met. He made each wolf different, unique for the person he was thinking of. But the fox... the fox was always the same. His form changed yes, but he danced among wolves throughout time, always there, always the same, always beautiful.

“Thank you so much Derek. It’s more than I could have hoped for” Kit’s eyes glistened slightly as he smiled.

After another lingering look, Kit carefully wrapped the cloth around it to keep it safe.

“I’m glad you like it...” Derek moved forward, but suddenly unsure of himself, patted Kit on the back roughly. “Now I can get back to serving normal customers again if you are quite done with your ridiculous requests?” Kit laughs.

“Well actually, I did have one more... and it’s kind of a big one...” he carefully pulls a piece of rolled canvas from his satchel.

“Let’s see it then...” Derek smiles fondly as Kit unrolls the plans on the table.

*****

Derek walks in the hospice door, nods at the nurse and heads off to his sister. He rounds a corner and sees Kit, standing further down past Laura’s room, carrying a heavy crate and looking around with a confused expression.

Without saying a word, Derek walks past him, opens the storeroom door and points, then strides back past into Laura’s room.

There is a few moments of silence as Derek sits down, before the unmistakeable sounds of Kit almost dropping something echoes down the hall. Soft padding follows and soon a shadow blocks out some of the light from the doorway.

“Hey thanks.” Kit says softly, smiling at Derek. Derek nods at him and looks back at his sister. Kit follows his line of sight and gasps softly when he sees her.

“Laurei” he whispers, too softly for Derek to make out properly.

“You know Laura?” Derek asks, eyebrows raised questioningly. Kit just nods softly, his eyes wide and his mouth pinched.

“How... how did it...”

“It happened a year ago. We were having dinner as a family when they came in through the forge, they took our weapons and they used them against us. They threatened us and tried to rob us.” Derek takes a shuddering breath “Two of them tried to drag my sister away, but when she resisted they smashed her head against the wall until she stopped. My dad and I broke free, we grabbed some of their swords and fought them... but...but we weren’t quick enough. They killed my mother, and my father died while fighting. The last two fled.”

“Oh gods Derek, I am so sorry...” Kit pauses, lays a hand gently on Derek’s shoulder. “I... I have lost family before. I never knew my real family. My father died before I was born, and my mother abandoned me in the woods... so I had to make do with what family I could find...but no matter how hard I try to hold on, my family always gets taken away from me.”

A tear rolls down Kit’s face, before his expression suddenly hardens with determination. He walks over to Laura’s bedside and gently lifts her hand, his eyes glowing like fire.

Derek stands, startled at the sudden change and moves to stop him.

“You have suffered too much Derek. I may not be able to stop it yet. But gods help me I will find a way. For now, at least I can give you something small back.” Kit’s voice vibrates with power and light begins to pulse from his hands into Laura, pulsing up her arm to her heart, then being pushed steadily around her entire body.

When the light reaches her head, Laura gasps wildly and sits up, eyes open but unseeing. She calms and lies back down, and the flow of energy from Kit ceases.

When she sits up again, she is groggy, but her eyes lock on to Derek and she cries out in joy. Derek leaps to her side and pulls her into a tight embrace.

Kit smiles at them and starts to back away slightly to give them room. Laura notices him and her eyes widen even more.

“Fox?!” Kit raises an eyebrow and Derek releases Laura with one arm and grabs Kit, pulling him into the hug and laughing.

It is the first time Kit had heard this form of Derek laugh and a weight on his chest is lifted instantly.

*****

Kit drops the cloth he was looking under at the sound of the door opening behind him.

“Laura is asleep. She was pretty upset about our parents, but I think she is happier just to be here at the moment...”

“That’s great to hear. I am so glad I can help you both.”

“Kit...thank you. For everything. For always being here...with your stupid requests. I was so close to giving up... and then you came. You came and you refused to leave me alone when everyone else would have. You came and you gave me back my sister! And all I have ever given you was the cold shoulder.”

“Derek, you may not understand it, you may not like it, but I would do anything for you. I will always be there for you, even if you don’t know you want me to be...”

Derek presses Kit up against a workbench and kisses him. For a moment the air is knocked out of Kit’s body and he is rigid, but he soon recovers and melts into Derek’s embrace, wrapping his arms around Derek’s neck and pressing their bodies together.

Derek pulls back with a gasp, his pupils blown and his breaths heavy. He stares at Kit with wonder, kissing him again, trailing kisses along his jaw and neck, his hands wandering over Kit’s body. When Derek squeezes Kit’s arse suddenly, Kit thrusts forward slightly, pressing their crotches together.

Suddenly Derek is on his knees, fumbling to undo Kit’s trousers and pull out his cock. Cautiously he licks the head, drowning in the sweet scent and flavour. Kit sighs when Derek takes him in his mouth, sucking gently. Derek, takes a breath through his nose and pushes further down Kit’s cock, he massages the underside with his tongue as he sucks, drawing back up to the head, before pushing forwards again.

His own cock throbs when Kit moans in pleasure, and Derek uses one hand to free himself from his pants. He begins to bob up and down on Kit’s cock, one hand massaging the balls slightly as his other hand jacks his own dick.

Kit’s hands snake into Derek’s hair and pull, causing Derek to moan. The vibrations of his moan go straight into Kit’s cock and the boy bites his own fist to keep from crying out. Derek smiles and pulls back. His voice is rough and growly.

“I want you to fuck my throat.”

“Oh my god...” Kit pants, pushing Derek back down onto his dick, he positions both his hands on Derek’s head and begins to thrust.

Derek opens his throat as Kit begins to thrust faster, pushing in and out. Derek stares up into Kit’s eyes, jerking himself faster in time with Kit’s thrusting. It’s not long before Kit’s movements begin to falter and he tries to warn Derek. Kit feebly tries to push Derek back, but Derek pushes forward instead, taking Kit’s entire length into his mouth when the boy cries out.

Kit’s cock spasms and his mouth is flooded with sweet warmth. Kit pulls Derek up, and kneels in front of him, pushing Derek’s hands away he takes over, jerking Derek’s cock with both hands while he stares up at Derek. Derek moans and cums, spurts of white going into his open mouth and covering his chin.

Before Kit can wipe himself off, Derek pulls him up, licks his own mess off Kit’s chin and licks into his mouth, kissing him passionately.

Suddenly there is a crash and a gasp behind them. The men startle and turn to see someone fleeing from the forge.

Shortly after they hear someone yelling in the street for help.

“Shit!” Derek curses, grabbing Kits hand he pulls them inside and bolts the door. “Laura! We need to go. Now! Grab whatever you need and let’s get the hell out of here.”

 A few moments later, Laura is downstairs, fully clothed with a pack on and Derek has thrown some essentials in a pack of his own. The three of them make haste for the back door when they hear glass breaking on the other side of the house.

They run outside and find themselves face to face with an angry mob, led by a priest carrying a flaming torch.

“Blasphemers!” the priest cries, pointing at Laura “That girl was unwaking but a day ago! These foul sodomites practice dark magic to bring her back! They must all be punished!”

The crowd screams in affirmation and rushes forward to grab them. Kit thrashes at them wildly as they grab his arms and legs, Derek manages to fight several off, keeping Laura behind him.

“Run Derek! There isn’t anything they can do to me that will stop me from finding you again!” Kit screams out “Just run!”

Derek draws out two swords and gives on to Laura, then they push through the crowd towards Kit, swinging at them without hitting.

It’s not long before several brawny men stand between Derek and Kit, armed with swords and shields. The town guards appear to have taken the mob’s side and they rush forward in attack.

Laura and Derek fight with everything they have, dodging and parrying. But it is a futile effort. Laura is still weak from her coma, and she soon collapses, a sword planted in her stomach.

Derek roars and leaps for the guard as Kit screams, dropped by the crowd around him as they nurse their burned skin.

Kit pushes through, his hands burning with green light, eyes ablaze as he incinerates any who try to stop him. The priest’s eyes are wide, he tries to push back but the crowd behind him is too thick. Kit’s fury melts his robes to his body and the torch in his hand flares up brightly setting several people on fire.

Kit parts through the crowd finally, for a moment he is face to face with Derek, Laura lying at their feet, as if sleeping again.

The guards sword draws across Derek’s neck, creating a cruel smile and covering Kit in Derek’s blood.

A flash of blinding light appears above the courtyard and the crowd collapses around them.

*****

Lydia makes her way through the unconscious bodies of townspeople, she keeps her staff held at the ready, watching for any signs of waking. She finds Kit, sobbing as he clutches Derek and Laura. Their eyes open, staring into nothing.

“Beorhtwulf, you need to go.” Kit looks up at her, his cheeks are stained with tears and his eyes glisten. “I can only keep them like this for so long. I am so sorry honey, but you know it will only get worse if you stay.”

Kit nods silently but makes no move to stay, idly stroking his hands through Laura and Derek’s hair.

“Come on” She pulls him gently and he stands after placing their bodies gently on the ground “I will put all of your things into storage. Just go. Go somewhere isolated. You will always know how to find me, but right now, you need to leave.”

*****

A few days later Lydia stands before a pyre, watching as the two siblings burn.

She turns towards the woods and watches as a fox with six tails melts into the trees.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I got so distracted with uni. I am going to finish this fic sometime next week hopefully. Only one chapter to go.

The light died down and kit found himself lying on Derek's corpse. He looked around at the townsfolk lying unconscious and he sighed deeply.

As kit moved to stand however, he noticed a distinct lack of height gained as he straightened, looking down in confusion to behold his small fax-shaped body. He huffed and trotted slowly from the village, knocking a pot over in an alleyway because of his voluminous tails. 

He stayed in town only long enough to watch them burn the corpses before he fled into the forest.

 

*****

Kit rolled across the forest floor, firing blasts of compressed air at the ground, springing his body up into the air where he fires a ball of electricity at his opponent, who in response kicks off the tree she was perched on, bending the light around her to suddenly disappear in the foliage. 

Kit projects his mind outwards, searching for her life force. His mind brushes past small rodents and birds, sending them fleeing from his presence, before he finally located a large powerful entity silently prowling behind him. Kit leaps upwards, bending backwards in time to see nine golden tails flash past the spot he had just been.

As he lands gracefully he maintains his focus, keeping his mind locked on the beacon of energy within her and he fires a precisely aimed blast of wind into the bushes where she was hiding.

A small thud and oof are heard before the forest is once again silent.

"Are you okay?" Kit calls out nervously, stepping cautiously towards the bushes.

"Of course I am! Great shot, I am so proud of you, Beorhtwulf. You are learning so quickly!"

"Thanks mother... I mean, Luperca." Kit says, shuffling awkwardly "And please, call me Kit. I know it's not my birth name but it's just so weird not to be called it..."

"Well I did name you nearly 700 years ago." She shrugs "So I guess it is a little out dated. But the meaning still fits. Either way, that's enough for the day. Come, let us eat!"

The two of them stride through the trees to a concealed cave, the smell of rich broth wafting from within. Kit sighs contentedly when he finally sits by the fire with a steaming bowl.

"Can you tell me more about my birth?" Kit pipes up suddenly.

"No. I was not there." Luperca replies, drinking from her bowl, a blank expression on her face, Kit's own face twisted in confusion.

"Who is my father then?" Stiles asks, ears flitting in annoyance.  
  
"You have no father. Kitsune are not bred. We are created when an elder Kitsune bestows it's knowledge with a seed of power on a fox cub. The power alters the cub when it comes into contact with...a special being and a Kitsune is born."  
  
"Okay... well that is a bit weirder than I expected. What do you mean a special being?"  
  
"Well..." She sighs "your soul mate."  
  
"Deiric is my soul mate? Is that why I keep finding him?" A curt nod. "Then why am I powerless to stop him dying?"  
  
"Because you must learn how to break his curse."  
  
"Curse? What curse? How do you know he is cursed?"  
  
"Because I am the one who cursed him."  
  
"What?! How could you!"  
  
"You don't understand Beorhtwulf, it is customary. It is how our kind progresses to enlightenment. The knowledge you gain through each life with Deiric has already earned you seven tails!"  
  
"You think that justifies all the pain you have caused him and his family?!"  
  
"Yes!" She states, her voice ringing with authority "because you have shown me that you have learnt lessons in reincarnation, magic, resignation, hope, humility and so much more. Even now you selflessly ask me of the pain I caused them without thinking of your own loss. This is the way of our people. It is how it has always been done!"  
  
"That doesn't make it right."

"Once you have learned all you can from Deiric, you will have obtained your ninth tail and enlightenment will bring you peace. You will understand it was necessary."

"I could never be so calloused and cruel to believe that the suffering of another could be justified!" Kit says, eyes glowing with fury. Luperca narrows her eyes.  
  
"Don't do anything foolish Kit." She spits his name out like it causes her pain "I sired you and I am older and more powerful than you are."  
  
"And yet I still see you as nothing!" She flinches. "Stay away from me. Stay away from Dietrich. You have caused enough pain." Kit storms out of the cave, uttering a spell to cover his tracks as he darts off into the forest.  
  
*****  
  
Derek grits his teeth as he sprints through the forest, pursued by the thunderous sound of the hunting party's horses. He sees Laura panting heavily to his left and he can hear his mother and Cora further off to his right. He angles towards them, bounding over a fallen tree. Laura runs in the opposite direction, snapping some tree branches as she goes before cutting back sharply towards him.   
  
When Derek catches up to his mother, he listens for the hunters, and smiles as they turn their horses away from his family, following Laura's false tracks. The hunters are arrogant, they wouldn't even dream of suspecting that werewolves were intelligent enough to throw them off the trail.  
  
The four of them pause for a moment until Derek's father lopes out of the trees and they all begin running again, far away from the hunters.  
  
*****  
  
They run for days, staying in the trees. By now the hunters would have sent word to neighbouring towns that they were murderers or worse, witches. They would have to rely on their pack instinct, but they were slowing down, fear and exhaustion taking its toll.  
  
Derek notices a flash of orange to his right and he snarls, signalling his family and directing them left, right into a large clearing in the woods.  
  
Derek pauses at the tree line, his family fanning out around the edge. The clearing was not naturally formed, it looked as if the trees had been physically pushed apart to form a perfect circle. The ground was covered in faint spirals that seemed to twist and move as the air shimmered above.  
  
In the centre of the clearing a boy with two fluffy fox ears sprouting from his short brown hair, sat cross legged with seven magnificent fox tails swaying behind him.  
  
Derek steps into the clearing, ignoring the growls of his parents and watched as the boys ears twitch towards him.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" Derek growls, allowing his wolf to show slightly. Before he receives a response a slight shiver races down the boys body and the smell of arousal hits Derek's nose, causing his cheeks to colour.  
  
"You don't remember me then. No matter, there will be plenty of time for me to remind you once I remove that curse." The boy springs to his feet, but stays in the same spot, wary of the eyes watching him from the trees.  
  
"What curse? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Tell your family to come into the clearing and I will show you. This space is enchanted, the hunters won't be able to find you."  
  
Hearing no falter in the boys heartbeat, Derek turns and beckons his family forward, watching them until they stalk within a metre of the trees but stay poised to flee. Derek turns back to watch the boy who is staring at Laura with a look of longing. Feeling strangely jealous, Derek releases a low growl, snapping the boys attention back to him.  
  
"Right, sorry. We used to be friends" he says gesturing to Laura "which brings me to the curse. My name is Beorhtwulf, or Kit if you can't be bothered pronouncing that monstrosity, and I have had enough of watching you and your family suffer and die throughout time so I am here to do something about it!" As Kit speaks, ethereal images flash in the air behind him, windows through time showing flashes of the death of each incarnation of Deiric. His family gasps and move closer to Derek.

"Now I haven't done this before but I have been trained so don't be scared."

"Wait, what are you planning to do to my son exactly? How do we know we can trust you?" Derek's mother steps forward, partially obscuring Derek.

"Well met again Talia. Right now I am just going to prove it to you. I don't have time to explain because the curse always claims Derek at midnight on his 25th birthday. But I can allow you to see the curse itself." Kit raises his hands and his eyes begin to glow a brilliant gold before he whispers "and hopefully the gods will allow me the strength to break it..."

The gold in Kit's eyes flares up, the further the light reaches out, a purple haze is revealed around Derek. The haze is mottled and dark, billowing around Derek in a toxic cloud, but what shocked Kit the most is that the curse does not end with Derek. As his power continues to reveal it, he sees tendrils of the curse reaching out to clutch around the hearts of each member of Derek's family, surrounding them with darkness.

"You see it?" Kit asks, his face twisted in disgust as he watches the clouds around Derek begin to swirl faster. He looks up to see the moon almost over head. "We don't have much time, allow me to try. Let me remove it, please!"

Talia nods at him and he wastes no time, uttering Nordic phrases to activate the runes he had placed in the clearing earlier. Each symbol glowing gold, shining into the night sky as Kit dances around Derek. When the final rune blazes to life, circles of light blaze around the runes.

"I need each of you to stand on the runes, everyone involved in the curse must be involved in the breaking of it." Moving in closer, Derek's family each stood at a rune with Kit standing on the fifth one, forming a pentagram with Derek at it's centre.

Kit begins to chant in a lilting tone, light flaring around the circle in a pulsing motion, disturbing the purple haze that still clung to Derek and his family. As the ritual continues, the circle of trees that form the clearing begin to creep towards them, reverting to their original place as Kit's concentration fails to maintain the wards he had set earlier.

Kit begins to sing in a strange language, a tune that was somehow both shapeless and beautifully composed, and one by one, the outer circles flared up with golden flames, severing the connection of the curse on each family member in turn. As flames travel down the spokes of the pentagram towards the circle Derek stood in, the haze surrounding him suddenly burst upwards towards the moon overhead, before spreading out to cover the clearing in darkness.

A whistling cut through the purple mist, which retreated as quickly as it had spread, sucking inwards directly into the gaping wound in Derek's chest. A pure silver crossbow bolt pushing out from his heart and the feathers sprouting from his back.

Kit and the others watch, time seeming to slow down as Derek's body hunches forward and falls to the ground.

A small click echoes from the trees before the whistling pierces the clearing once more.

Kit steps forward, eyes ablaze as the familiar pit of fury awakens within him, silver crossbow bolts hang suspended in the air inches away from their targets. He turns and looks at Talia, who flinches at whatever she sees in his eyes.

"Take him. Take him and leave. I won't let them pursue you" He turns to the treeline where the hunters remain frozen with fear.

"What about you? What about the curse?"

"I will find him again. I will break the curse completely next time. I will end his suffering I swear it."

Talia grabs Derek's body with the aid of her husband and the family flees into the woods. Kit faintly hears Laura whisper a goodbye.

Kit extends his hand and pulls the hunters towards him, revealing 2 men and 3 women, each wearing silver plated suits of armour and equipped with a number of deadly looking silver weapons. 

The leader stands before him straight and proud, a smug expression on her face at having struck a nerve with such a powerful beast. Kit could feel the malice of her thoughts rolling off her in waves.

"You people, hunt werewolves? You call them monsters and yet I can see into your hearts. You have killed innocent children, people who have done no wrong other than exist" Kit laughs bitterly "I will give you a taste of how it feels. I have decided I won't kill you."

Kit raises his hand and billowing purple smoke extends from his palm, wrapping tightened coils around the woman and her family. When he speaks again, his voice is layered with power.

"You shall live by a code, you shall hunt only those who hunt you. Your family shall become guardians of humans and beasts alike. But each generation you" Kit points at the blonde woman "shall be reincarnated. You shall be driven insane by your own karmic guilt and you shall commit terrible atrocities, causing your own family to turn against you, to exile and eventually kill you. As long as your family legacy remains, you shall never know the rest of death. You shall constantly feel the pain you have caused. This curse can only be broken if the cycle of hate your family has inflicted is broken by a bond of love."

Kit arches his back, eyes flaring and the purple smoke billows upwards and inside the woman's mouth. The curse resounds in Kit's head with understanding and burst of pain from his lower back is the only sign of the eighth tail that has sprouted.

Kit leaves the hunters unconscious on the ground as he calmly strides off into the woods.

 

"I won't let you down again Derek. I swear it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I lied about getting it done last week. It was a bit harder to get this done than I realised. I didn't want it to sound jarring so this is like, the injections of change to the current plot. One more chapter.
> 
> Also there is no Kira. Sorry. Nope. She don't exist.

In a cold hospital room, a mother and child lay, cold in each other's arms. Just outside a father stands in broken silence.  
  
A doctor walks over to the man to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder but when he opens his mouth to speak, the silence in the room is broken by a shuddering breath and the cry of a newborn child. A Nurse rushes into action, swaddling the crying child and bringing him over to his father. As soon as he is placed in his fathers arms the child stops crying, looking up at the man with golden brown eyes.  
  
"I don't understand" a doctor mumbles "the child had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, he suffocated long before we got him out..."  
  
"It's a miracle! Does it matter how it happened?" A nurse whispers at him.  
  
"I saw it..." another says quietly "there was some kind of spark. Like an electrical storm beneath his skin and then he was breathing..."  
  
"That makes no sense! There has to be some explanation" the Doctor snaps.  
  
"Well I certainly didn't drop a defibrillator on him, and there were no stray live wires I could see." the second nurse replies curtly.  
  
"Just get the paperwork done and get this man out of here. Let him appreciate at least one good thing." the first nurse interjects, ushering the others out of the surgery.  
  
*****  
  
Stiles was a clumsy youth. He never felt quite right in his own skin. Despite the unusual amount of injuries however, he had a fairly normal life growing up.  
  
In second grade he met Scott, and the two became fast friends after a game of hide and seek in a hedge maze where the two of them ended up lost for hours. In third grade he first sighted Lydia, standing in sunlight that made her appear as if she was surrounded by swirls of magic. Needless to say, she did not appreciate the insinuation of being a witch. And in fourth grade he met Derek in the police station, a sad lonely boy who was one of the few survivors of a family house fire. Stiles spent hours trying to comfort the boy to no avail.  
  
Stiles life was fairly normal. Until Scott was bitten by a werewolf that is.  
  
After that things devolved pretty damn quickly. His quick wit and sarcasm often seemed to land him in more trouble than usual, which is probably why he now found himself in an empty car park being propositioned by a psychopathic werewolf.   
  
"I can be very persuasive stiles. Don't make me persuade you."   
  
As Stiles' head connects with the bonnet of the car, a vision of a grand courtroom floods into his mind. In the center of his vision floats a man, contorted in pain.  
  
The second vision occurs a few minutes later as Peter raises Stiles' wrist to his mouth. He sees himself with Peter, a younger more barbaric version, standing on a balcony over a large palatial garden. Peter's hand is on Stiles' neck, claws embedded into the skin and a few moments later the two of them are kissing. The vision blurs through months of tormenting scenarios, of Stiles and Peter together, of people being tortured and killed, and finally of a young dark haired boy with an arrow sprouting from his back.  
  
The vision seems to last a lifetime, but Stiles quickly snatches his hand away from Peter, his skin burning from the sensation.  
  
"I don't want to be like you" He cuts out, heart fluttering from the memory of what he had seen.  
  
"Do you know what I heard just then? Your heart beating slightly faster over the words 'I. Don't. Want.' You may believe that you are telling me the truth but you are lying to yourself. Goodbye Stiles."  
  
*****  
  
As the makeshift molotov cartwheeled through the air, Stiles saw Peter, twisted, broken and bloody at his feet. He saw the light leave his lifeless eyes. And then Peter catches the bottle and Stiles is snapped back to reality. He stays there. Frozen. His eyes unable to focus on the scene unfolding before him as images of different people, places and times swim before his eyes.   
  
When Peter is dead, and Derek's eyes glow red with power, Stiles is drawn forward suddenly, walking inside the house. He finds himself staring down at Kate's lifeless body, blood oozing from her throat. As he watches her, he sees a strange purple mist, so faint it is almost invisible, spreading out from her and seeping into the floorboards of the house.  
  
A creaking noise behind him has the smoke swirling violently forward, pooling around Derek's feet. Stiles shudders and runs outside, doubling over and vomiting in the yard. His head is throbbing. Vaguely he can hear the others voices, muffled but ringing with concern. Stiles collapses, the last thing he sees is Derek's arms reaching out to catch him.   
  
*****  
  
Stiles was a clumsy teen. He never felt quite right in his own skin. And despite the unusual amount of supernatural creatures that he fought alongside his werewolf best friend, he tried to maintain a normal life.  
  
Nobody questioned the night Peter died. They assumed that Stiles simply couldn't handle the sight of death. The incident passed without consequence.  
  
But the visions did not pass. Certain people Stiles met would trigger them, flashes of different lives, feelings from old relationships. But then Stiles began hearing the thoughts that accompanied the visions.  
  
After that things devolved pretty damn quickly. The thoughts quickly became a voice. A singular voice that seemed to take up residence in Stiles' brain. And Stiles found himself arguing with it quite regularly. Often out loud. It seems they both shared a quick wit and sarcasm that led to trouble.  
  
At first, his friends just ignored it. They assumed it was the quirk he had always had to help work out his thoughts. But as the arguments became more complex, as if Stiles was actively arguing against his own mind, they became quickly worried.  
  
And then, on a cold night filled with ancient magic, Stiles helped to resurrect the power of the Nemeton. To those around him, the voices stopped. Stiles appeared normal once again.  
  
*****  
  
Kit screams out in fury. He is trapped. He is powerless.  
  
Stiles sits serenely, playing move by move a game he cannot hope to win. Opposite him, a beast of darkness, who changes the rules of the game as it goes on.   
  
Kit can feel the other's influences. Can feel it driving Stiles' physical body. Causing pain and suffering, using the spark within Stiles to fuel his own power.   
  
A howl cuts through Stiles mind, reverberating in the walls of his being, deafening Kit as it envelops him. Through Stiles eyes Kit sees Scott, standing next to Lydia at the end of a long white room.   
  
Recognition blooms within Stiles conscious mind like a sunset after months of long darkness. Kit smiles to himself as he feels a new sense of control.  
  
Stiles stands and hurls the game board to the side, pieces scattering as the nogitsune recoils. The false world around them begins to crumble, shattering into darkness, crushing them on all sides. A pin prick of light appears above them and Stiles climbs, pulls himself upwards with all his might, pull himself forth into the light.  
  
*****  
  
Stiles watches the other version of himself standing there with a smug expression. Around him the werewolves are stuck fighting, no, fighting isn't the right word, surviving against the Oni.   
  
As two of the demons close in on Derek, Stiles can feel his heartbeat speed up, without thinking he grabs a rock off the ground and lobs it at the nogitsune.  
  
Time seems to slow and Stiles vaguely hears Lydia's cry of protest before the rock collides with its target. The nogitsune roars with fury and suddenly four silver masks are trained on Stiles. He feels Lydia tug him and he stumbles with her into the school.   
  
It doesn't take long for the nogitsune to catch them, his footsteps heavy with purpose.  
  
"This is my game. You think you can beat me at my game?" The nogitsune smiles cruely, advancing towards Stiles and Lydia as they stumble away. "Divine move... Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me? Me?! I'm a thousand years old you CAN'T. KILL. ME!"  
  
In that moment, the nogitsune probes at Stiles mind and something snaps inside him. A glint appears in the gold depths of Stiles eyes and the nogitsune pauses in confusion.   
  
"But we can change you!" Lydia pipes up, drawing the beings attention.  
  
"...what?" The nogitsune asks, voice quiet.  
  
"You forgot about the scroll" Stiles adds.  
  
"The shugendo scroll."  
  
"Change the host..." The nogitsune says, voice quavering.  
  
Scott's jaws clamp down on the nogitsune who crumbles as if he were made of porcelain. A single fly springs forth as the body crumbles and Stiles catches it in a jar.   
  
"You guys make sure the others are all right. I know where to put this so nobody will ever find it again." Before they can protest Stiles ducks out an emergency exit and heads into the forest.  
  
He walks until he is sure nobody followed him before he stops in a clearing. Slowly he unscrews the lid from the jar and sets it on the ground. He takes a few steps back and waves a hand towards the jar. Thick black smoke billows upwards from the jar, swirling down and condensing in front of Stiles in the shape of a man.   
  
"What is happening?" An unnaturally deep voice demands "How are you doing this?"  
  
"You couldn't sense me in there. I wonder why. I could sense you from the moment you entered my mind. What are you?" Stiles asks, tilting his head.  
  
"You know what I am."  
  
"No. I know what you are. I suppose I was not clear enough. You are like me. Or you were once. You were a kitsune where you not?"  
  
"I was once."  
  
"So how did you become like this."  
  
"I failed to break my curse." The being before him darkens with anger, his power swelling as if the emotion feeds his own power. "You did not answer my question, how are you doing this? You don't have that much power."  
  
Stiles shrugs "You need to work on your perception. So are you saying you failed to save your mate? This is why you are like this?"   
  
"I WILL NOT JUST SIT HERE SATISFYING YOUR CURIOSITY!"  
  
"Until you figure out how to break free than you will do exactly what I want, actually. Now tell me more about your curse. Did it involve reincarnation?"  
  
The nogitsune laughs bitterly "What I would have given to have a reincarnation curse. Let me guess, your true love is cursed to die over and over until you figure out how to save them?" He growls "You are luckier than you could imagine. I only had one lifetime to work out how to break my mates curse."  
  
"Don't mistake this for sympathy, there is no chance I am letting you go again, but I am sorry. This whole cycle of a kitsune's life is bullshit!"  
  
"It is a necessary evil. The magic necessary to create a higher being like a kitsune has to come with a cost. Your maker probably shaped the curse when they made you so you would have more time. My maker did not afford me the curtesy." The nogitsune shakes his head, raising his arms suddenly and stepping forward "But it's no matter now, I am going to kill you anyway so you won't have to fret anymore! And then I will go put your mate out of their misery. Permanently."  
  
The nogitsune strides forward, confidant in his actions and raises his arm up high to strike at Stiles. Casually, Stiles brings a hand up in front of his face and inspects his fingernails as the blow falls and strikes a barrier in the air, causing a shimmer to ripple outwards revealing a dome structure around the nogitsune. Stiles quirks an eyebrow at him as the dark being screams in frustration.  
  
"How is this possible?! You know barely anything! You have no visible power how can you possibly contain me?!"  
  
"For a start, I know barely anything about curses, as you know it is usually the final stage of enlightenment. And secondly.... Well, hate to break it to you but I am six times your age. You can only see the power I want you to see."  
  
Stiles eyes glow and the nogitsune steps back in shock. He allows the creature a moment to appreciate the mistake it made before allowing his power to crush forward, completely obliterating the nogitsune's soul, absorbing its considerable power into Stiles' own.  
  
*****  
  
Stiles knocks cautiously on the door to Derek's loft. After a minute of silence, he carefully opens the door and creeps inside.  
  
"Hello?" He calls out "Derek? Are you here?"  
  
"Stiles?" Derek's voice is high with confusion as he steps out of another room. He is still dripping from the shower and has nothing on but a towel around his waist. Stiles coughs slightly and his cheeks go pink, quickly looking away.  
  
"Uhh, yeah hey. Um, I just..." He pauses, unsure what he actually planned to say. He gets no assistance from Derek's dead panned face "I just wanted to check up on you actually. I wanted to make sure you were all right after yesterday..."  
  
Derek's eyebrows rise sharply and his mouth drops ever so slightly.   
  
"I....uh, yeah no. I am fine. I am good." Derek stutters slightly, his own cheeks colouring. "I only got a few cuts, nothing too bad thanks to you guys. But they are healed now so... Thanks for checking on me..."  
  
Stiles laughs to break the mood slightly. It seems to work as Derek's shoulders visibly relax.  
  
"No worries man. I was also just going to suggest you should come over some time and grab a bite to eat with me or the others. We may not always show it, but we appreciate all you have done for us. You are always there to help."  
  
"Uhhhh, thanks" Derek replies quietly.  
  
"So random question, how old are you?"  
  
"I'm 25 in a few months?"  
  
"What?!" Derek looks startled at the panic that crept into Stiles' voice. "When is your birthday? We need to organise something!"  
  
"I don't want a party Stiles..." Derek says, still suspicious.  
  
"Okay fine. But still tell me the date. We need to at least do a pack dinner or something."  
  
"November 7."  
  
"Shit... Okay that's not far off. I won't even have time to organise a party anyway" Stiles laughs nervously. "Anyway I will let you know the plan, we have to do something. I'll see you around Derek."  
  
"Yeah, okay. See you Stiles."  
  
Stiles leaves too quickly. When he gets to his car he sits for a while and hyperventilates. He doesn't have enough time. He can't do this.  
  
Above him Derek watches through the window of his loft, more confused than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm not dead! I'm really sorry it's taken me so long, basically I fucked up most of my life last year and had a super bad mental health time so I gave up on writing for a while.
> 
> I have split this into two chapters because it's turning out to be longer than I planned. It's a little rough because I basically did it in a night and I didn't want to rewrite the whole show so a lot of the character interaction takes place in the background along the general lines of the show itself. With any luck the next chapter will be done by the weekend and this fix will finally be complete. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all your messages of support and for sticking with me for this long! Love you all!
> 
> As usual please let me know if you see any errors

"Lydia, honey?" Natalie called up the stairs, her voice echoing slightly in the pristine white foyer, "Stiles is here to see you... again."

"Gee, thanks Ms Martin" Stiles scoffs "I'll make my own introduction next time if that's all right."

"Any chance of not having a next time?" She replied with a smile, turning and strutting off into another room. Stiles pulls a sullen face at the now empty doorway before skipping up the stairs two at a time.

"Hey Lyds" he says casually, rounding into her room and throwing himself on the bed before she can object. Lydia doesn't turn from her computer screen which is covered in archaic Latin scrolls.

"Stiles." She replies curtly, allowing the silence to stretch for a while before sighing and turning her head to regard him. "What?"

"I...um..." Stiles takes a deep breath "I need to talk to you. About some stuff which may sound a bit crazy. Okay actually it's going to sound entirely crazy. But I mean, given all the crazy shit we deal with every day it's probably not that much of a stretch..."

"Stiles! You're rambling, get to the point."

"Lydia, I know you!"

"Are you seriously interrupting my research to tell me..."

"No I mean" Stiles sighs in frustration "I mean that I knew you. From the moment I first saw you, I recognised you. But it wasn't until recently that I realised from where!" A perfectly sculpted eyebrow raises in a silent question. "I know you from a past life."

"Excuse me?" A barely noticeable raise in the pitch of her words was the only indicator of her surprise at the statement. 'She doesn't remember' he thinks.

"This is very hard to explain. The Nogitsune did something to me. Unlocked memories I didn't know I had. Memories from different lives, with different people and places, but some things always stayed constant."

"Stiles, how do you know these aren't the Nogitsune's memories? Or just some fantasies he implanted?"

"Because I was there! And almost everyone in Beacon hills has been in my past at some point. But most importantly, you were there. In almost every life time, you were one of the few constant things."

"Okay. So despite the improbability, let's say that these are in fact memories of past lives. Why not tell the others? Why come to me?"

"Aside from the fact that you are a genius and can help me work out everything I need to..." Lydia smiles slightly and averts her eyes for a second "I came to you because everything I have seen of you in this life... it doesn't add up. It's inconsistent with what I remember and I don't understand what could have changed..."

"Different how?"

"Well, I guess the main thing is I saw you as a child."

"And why is that strange? You never grew up with me, so what?"

"It's strange because you should be an immortal witch who never ages..."

"Excuse me?" this time Lydia did not hide her shock, the slight mask of amusement had dropped from her face as she assessed him seriously.

"Every time I have met you, you have appeared to me in your early twenties, and you have always remembered me. You were an incredibly old and powerful witch and we traveled through time together. We were eternal besties!" Stiles had stood up and was pacing, animatedly speaking with his hands as he went "You helped me woo Derek so many times I've lost count and..." The colour drains from his face and he stops moving.

"I see. Okay, I am taking you seriously now. Normally when you say something embarrassing you start to uncontrollably rant in a lame attempt to make the person forget what you just said. Something has changed in you Stiles, and I think it has been a process that began after Peter's death. The nogitsune appears to have accelerated the process." She had turned to face him completely and at some point had begun taking notes in a small book "From what I gather, you and I were immortal, not necessarily tied but rather continued to meet through some happy coincidence or fate, whichever you prefer. That being said, you refer to multiple lifetimes, the goal of which must have been the pursuit of Derek, which means you define your own life cycle by period's of Derek's fragile mortality. I assume that your fate or purpose as a supernatural creature is therefore somehow tied to Derek, verified by my own involvement as no incarnation of myself in it's own wisdom would ever have wasted precious time helping you over and over on such a menial task as wooing him." Lydia looks up at Stiles who was staring with his mouth slightly ajar. "That sound about right?"

"Yup... pretty much hit the nail on the head with a fucking sledgehammer... have I mentioned I love you?"

"Several times daily. Okay, so to help you figure this out I need to know what you are and why..." Lydia cuts off suddenly, her mouth open as she continues to stare at Stiles, her eyes now strangely vacant.

At the same time as she stops talking, Stiles hears a crash on the landing outside Lydia's room. He cautiously walks to the door and leans his head out, spotting Ms Martin standing at the stop of the stairs with a similarly vacant expression, her arms by her side and a dropped tray of drinks smashed at her feet. Panicking slightly, Stiles immediately focuses on his hearing, allowing the sense to consume him.

At first he hears nothing. At all. Even signs of life from animals outside had ceased. Only the steady beat of his Lydia and his own hearts. Stiles looks in confusion at Ms Martin, still standing there motionless, before another heartbeat breaks through the quiet, a strong and fast beat coming from just outside the front door. The hairs on the back of his neck rise as the door handle is twisted and the newcomer walks inside. Stiles backs into the room again, standing in front of Lydia as the other proceeds to stalk up the stairs.

Stiles recognises that heartbeat. The smell of the intruder brings back painful memories. He stands up as tall as he can and clenches his fists as a smirking face rounds the doorway.

"Well now Stiles" Peter says in a dangerously honeyed tone. "What a surprise to see you here. Although I must admit I had hoped you wouldn't see this." He gestures vaguely at Lydia with one hand and out the door with the other, presumably at her mother.

"What the hell have you done to them?!"

"Oh nothing I haven't done before." Peter waves a hand dismissively "Now, move out of my way like a good little human and I may even let you live. Provided of course you can keep your silence..." Peter smiles as if he was sharing a joke with Stiles that wasn't a veiled promise that he was going to be killed.

"I'll keep quiet. But there isn't a chance in hell that I am moving out of your way"

Peter looks genuinely taken aback by the resolve in Stiles' voice for a moment, before replacing his shit-eating grin once more.

"Stiles. Move." Peter's voice was rough and his eyes begin to glow a piercing blue as he allows the wolf inside him to come close to the surface.

"No." Stiles pushes some of his own power forward in response, his eyes shimmering as if made of molten gold. Peter's own eyes widen in shock. "I'm not going anywhere Peter. And until I get some answers, neither are you."

A slight gesture of Stiles' head sends a chair careening into the back of Peter's legs, forcing him to sit. Stiles ignores him and turns to Lydia, examining her with his enhanced sight. The first thing he noticed was a thick golden chain linking Lydia's life force to Peter's, which he would need to deal with later, but a second smaller purple chain of power connected Lydia's subconscious mind to a currently active section of Peter's brain. Reaching forward Stiles braces a hand behind Lydia's head and with the other plucks at the purple strand, breaking it with ease, the recoil flying down the line and snapping Peter's head back with the force. After a few moments, Lydia's brain begins to reboot and she blinks a few times before focusing on the scene before her. Stiles turns back to Peter who looked even more shocked than before.

"Start talking." Stiles says once Peter had stopped struggling against the invisible force holding him in the chair. Stiles could smell something that he had never imagined Peter capable of, fear. Also mixed with the slight scent of arousal, which was just gross.

"Whatever could you want me to talk about? The weather? The health of my nephew? My experience in the afterlife?" Peter almost kept the slight tremor out of his voice.

"Let's start with with a stroll down memory lane shall we?" Stiles voice was light, but dripping with a malice that made even Lydia flinch. He walks forward to Peter and leans in to lightly brush his fingertips over the back of his neck, savoring the shiver that travels down Peter's spine. "Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to just tap in directly, so we have to do this the old fashioned way. I am guessing that dying would have put you in touch with the memories of some of your past lives, if you didn't have them already, am I correct?"

"I don't have any idea what you are..." Peter's words are cut off with a grown of pain as the bones under his skin begin to twist and creak. Lydia clasps a hand over her mouth, eyes darting to Stiles with a look of horror.

"Do. Not. Lie. To. Me. Peter."

"Fine." Peter's voice was strained with pain "Yes, I remember my past lives. I have been able to since I was resurrected."

"Good. Then you can explain to me why my Immortal Witch friend is suddenly growing up as a Banshee with her life bound to yours."

"I met Lydia a few centuries ago, running from the Salem Witch trials. I was able to convince her to cast a spell that would be mutually beneficial to the both of us."

"Why do I get the feeling your convincing methods were just as violent as they are today... What was the spell?"

"It was quite simple really. The spell would remove me from the effects of our family curse, which would mean that the hunters chasing the two of us were no longer bound by fate itself to catch us, and in return we would be bound into a reincarnation life cycle in sync with my families' own one. Unfortunately the hunters caught us anyway as chance would have it and we were put to death. But at least I had insurance for future lives."

"How exactly did you end up being able to control Lydia and her mother? And why is she a banshee now?"

"Well, in that particular lifetime I had dabbled in witchcraft myself, and it only took my rudimentary knowledge of the craft to tweak a few ingredients in her spell to give me that particular perk. I assume the Banshee condition is a subsequent ripple of the spell and maybe even my additions to it. The spell was designed to alter the conditions of a death curse, and by adding an element of control over her, I suppose it altered Lydia into the only thing that could accurately ward against such a curse. My own personal herald of death. Her mother on the other hand is nothing more than a vessel. An empty shell. Lydia is still functionally immortal, she just reverts to childhood in each reincarnation of Derek. Her parents appear as part of the illusion."

"Well that's fucked up... Wait, why did Demeter die so young? The curse has always claimed him at 25, Demeter was only 16 when you had him killed."

"That was an unfortunately unsuccessful experiment. By that lifetime, I had figured out that the curse was centered around him and so I had tracked him down and had him killed ahead of time. I was trying to see if the rest of our family would be spared. Unfortunately we were not."

Stiles can't stop himself, a growl rips from his throat and his fist connects with Peter's head, snapping it around. Stiles ignores the cracking sounds as the bones in Peters neck attempt to right themselves, turning to face Lydia.

"What do you think? Any of this trigger a memory at all?" Lydia was pale and shook her head weakly. Stiles kneels in front of her and puts his hands on hers "I promise you Lydia, I will free you from this. I will get you back to normal I swear it."

"Oh there's no need to wast any effort on that Stiles. This arrangement is still technically tied to the curse after all. You simply have to fulfill your purpose and break your curse and little Lydia here will be back to her boring timeless self." A vicious smirk slides onto his face "Although, that may prove difficult. I'd say by now she's already got him."

"Who?" Stiles spins back towards Peter, a feeling of dread settling in his stomach "What are you talking about? What's happened to Derek?!"

*****

"Okay, Allison and I will distract the berserkers, you find Derek and get him out of there" Scott says, looking at the old church before them. Stiles nods in agreement. "And if you see Kate, get the fuck out of there."

"No problem I have no desire to deal with her" Stiles lies smoothly, his heartbeat remaining steady. He notices a glint of white in the hills behind the building and quickly points to it "There, one of the berserkers. If you can draw them to the west so they aren't focused on the church I can get inside."

Scott just nods, not questioning how Stiles saw it, but Allison's eyes narrow slightly. Stiles avoids looking at her until she huffs and stalks away with Scott. He waits until he sees flashes of light past the church and watches the berserker sprint with unnatural grace across the distance behind the church.

Stiles leaps into action. Literally. He jumps off the top of the cliff they were camped on and lands lightly on the balls of his feet 15 meters below before launching into a sprint of his own, easily crossing a mile in seconds and dashing through the front door of the church.

He waits a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. There are few features inside the building, the stained glass windows all boarded up to block the light and a dark staircase leading down into the ground. Stiles moves silently down the stairs, focusing on his hearing to navigate through the darkness towards the heartbeat he had been able to hear since he destroyed the nogitsune.

He can feel Derek's pulse. It was so close, it filled his whole body with the steady beat. He didn't even notice the fist hurtle out of the darkness and collide with the side of his face, only snapping from his daze as he collides with the wall, debris falling off it easily.

The berserker releases a deep, rattling growl as Stiles lays motionless on the ground. It kicks him in the ribs, and when Stiles doesn't react it begins to turn away. Stiles hand reaches out to snatch its ankle.

*****

Derek's heartbeat leads stiles to an empty room with a huge Aztec motif on the wall. Stiles looks around confused. The beat is strong and seems to be all around him. He utters a small spell to dampen the echo and his attention is bright suddenly back to the carvings, the pulse coming from directly behind them.

'If Derek is on the other side of that and is conscious... Well screw it, now is as good a time as any to reveal I'm not human' Stiles thinks walking over to the wall and punching his fist through the stone. He pours fourth magic making his arm into a grappling hook of energy and pulls back, bringing a huge chunk of the wall with it.

Stiles takes a step back in shock. Inside the wall, Derek is bound in old roots, but he looks much younger. More like the boy Demeter Stiles met once in the past. His face is handsome in a smoother, less rugged way, not weathered from stress and worry. Stiles is thankful that he appears to be sleeping peacefully.

He rips the vines away and hoists Derek onto his shoulder in a fireman carry and quickly makes his way back through the maze.

Shortly after he leaves Kate comes wandering in from another tunnel, two of the berserkers on her tail, and examines the hole in the wall with fascination. The smell in the room is one she has not encountered before, but it is definitely not human. She turns and walks towards her third berserker hoping to gain some information on who came into the tunnels.

As she rounds the corner she stops still, a look of shocked disbelief on her face. The berserkers corpse is scattered across the corridor, the caved in skull lying in the middle of the gory mess, still crackling with energy.

*****

"Stiles!" Scott calls out, running to help as Stiles drags Derek's limp body out of the church. "Where's Derek?"

"Use your nose Scott, you are staring at him."

"What?!" Scott's eyes bug as he sniffs the unconscious boy tentatively "What the hell did Kate do to him?"

"I don't know exactly, but there is some kind of Aztec ruin underneath the church, I'd say that has a large part to play in this."

A furious roar echoes dimly from within the church making the two boys flinch just as Allison sprints around the corner.

"What the hell was that?" She said, coming to a stop in front of them, double taking when she sees Derek. "Who the hell is that?"

"That was probably Kate" Stiles nods his head back towards the church "discovering that we took Derek here" Stiles finishes nodding towards the unconscious boy.

"We need to get out of here and get Derek back to Deaton. Now." Scott chimes in, taking Derek off Stiles easily and breaking off in a light run towards where the Jeep was hidden.

*****

Deaton proved to be predictably clueless about Derek's condition. His brilliant solution to wait it out still had Stiles trembling with barely contained anger. Upon arriving back at Scott's place, a very large crack appeared in Stiles' diplomacy dyke, providing a very rude shock for Scott's father who had attempted to ambush them for information. That barely contained anger suddenly became barely contained magic, with a barely contained Stiles being dragged out of the house by Derek in the wake of a barely conscious Mr McCall.

Scott stayed behind to try and explain what happened when his father recovered. And so after a silent drive with Stiles still fuming, the two of them pull into the driveway of Stiles' empty house.

Stiles fumbles with the keys for a few seconds before throwing the front door open a little more roughly than he should have.

"Make yourself at home dude." Stiles says, throwing his jacket on a hook by the door. "Do you need anything? Food? Drink? Shower and fresh clothes?"

"I'm fine." Derek subtly sniffs himself "Do you think I need a shower?"

"Nah man, you always smell good. I just personally felt weird after being in that temple place, thought you might've felt the same."

"I always smell good?" Derek asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep" Stiles replies popping the 'p' as he throws himself back on the couch "Although, usually you also smell sad, which makes me sad."

"Why would I smell sad?" Derek asks, sitting on the opposite end of the couch in a relaxed sprawl, dropping one hand very close to Stiles outstretched legs.

"Let's talk about that later maybe?" Stiles says nervously, retracting his legs slightly and sitting more upright. "Kindof a long story and I think we might want to skip the basics first."

"Fine. What are you then? You can apparently smell emotions and you nearly threw that man at Scott's place through a wall."

"Uhhhh... that's an even longer story actually..." Stiles sighs "I think I need a drink for this."

"I could help you relax some other way" Derek says, lowering his voice with a sultry growl.

"Oh come on, that's not fair! You are too young to have sexy gravel!" Stiles shouts, rolling off the couch and stumbling to stand. He walks briskly to the kitchen, cheeks bright red and takes out a bottle of whiskey. "You were sent here to torture me. That must've been her grand plan! To frustrate me into an early grave."

"I'll have a drink too actually"

"Dude no! You're like 14!"

"Oh come on, I'm 16. And from what you've told me I'm technically 25 so it's more legal for me than you..."

"24! You are only 24... which probably doesn't matter that much to you right now and may have seemed like a strange outburst..."

"Perfectly logical outburst really. I'd be trying to justify my crush too" Derek replies with a wink.

"I don't have to justify anything thank you." Stiles says, downing a full glass and pouring himself another. "I just can't cope with people who are unfairly attractive in every stage of their life right now!"

"So you do have a crush on me?" Derek whispers, suddenly standing very close behind Stiles.

Stiles spins on the spot with a yelp and Derek leans in, caging Stiles against the bench with both arms. Slowly Derek leans his face closer, pressing his body flush against Stiles and brings an arm up, tracing his fingertips lightly up the length of Stiles exposed arms. Stiles' skin tingles from the sensation and he can feel goosebumps raising along the path of Derek's touch. When Derek angles his face so that their noses won't bump and the gap between them becomes less than a centimeter, Stiles closes his eyes and instinctively holds his breath, anticipating the contact to come. A light puff of air against his lips and the sudden withdrawal of all touch leaves stiles blinking his eyes open in confusion, only to find Derek leaning away from Stiles holding a bottle of alcohol and smirking over his victory.

"Wait... what the..."

"You didn't tell me you were stocking wolfs bane laced stuff."

"Hey, no no no that's for Scott." Stiles makes a grab for the bottle but Derek laughs lightly and raises his arm in the air behind him, still keeping his feet planted on either side of Stiles' own. Stiles overextends reaching for it again and stumbles forward, catching himself on Derek's shoulders, his face suddenly smushed into Derek's neck.

Without quite realising what he is doing, Stiles turns his face slightly and inhales deeply, the familiar scent sending a wave of calmness flowing through his mind and body. Derek stops laughing and goes completely still.

"I'm sorry I didn't..." Stiles pushes back against the kitchen bench and raises his hands in the air. Derek doesn't step back but tilts his head slightly and looks at Stiles with an expression of curiosity. "What is that look? What?"

"Nothing. You just... smelled really different when you scented me."

"Different how?"

"It's difficult to explain... You smelt like" Derek ducks his head suddenly and his cheeks tinge red. He shyly takes a step backwards and crosses his arms, hugging the bottle to his chest. "Like my parents when they would kiss. Like you were in bliss at being with your packmate."

"I...um... wow..." Stiles grabs the glass off the counter next to him and downs it again as Derek similarly takes a long draught from his own bottle. "Can we file that under long discussions to be had later?"

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." Derek leans against the back of a chair and takes another drink, grimacing slightly from the taste. They stay there in silence for a while, drinking their way slowly through their bottles when Derek speaks again. "You two have been dodging the question all night. Where's my family?"

Stiles sighs heavily and pushes away from the bench. He snatches his keys off the bench beside him.

"Come on. I need to show you something."

"Should you be driving right now?"

"I'll be fine" Stiles takes a moment to send a pulse of magic through his veins, burning out the alcohol as it went. Derek's own eyes flare in response to the use of power but he remains silent and follows Stiles out to the car.

They drive in silence, a gloom settling over them as Derek seems to sense what is about to come. His face looks pained like he is already preparing himself for the worst. After what seems like an endless amount of time, the trees clear and Derek's home materializes from the darkness. Stiles parks the car and shuts off the engine, allowing Derek time to take in the state of the once grand home. After a while, Derek hops out of the car and walks inside, with Stiles following a small distance behind.

"There was a fire." Stiles begins "I think it happened when you were a little bit older than you are now. At least I remember you looking more or less the same."

He pauses to take a breath, steeling himself for what he would have to say next. As much as it breaks his heart to hurt Derek in any way, he knew he couldn't lie to him.

"Someone had lined all the exits with mountain ash. Most of your family were trapped inside."

A choked sob rips through Derek's chest and he sits heavily on the ruined staircase. Stiles takes a half step towards him, a hand outstretched but hesitates and decides to stay where he is.

"As far as I know, Peter was the only one who survived the fire, but even he was damaged almost beyond repair. Cora, Laura and yourself weren't at home when it happened." He pauses to let it sink in, deciding not to tell Derek about the subsequent fate of his sister and uncle. "Derek, I'm so sorry."

Stiles watched as Derek cried silently and he felt completely useless. In all his lifetimes, Derek had never been dealt a blow like this. Stiles had never seen Derek suffer the loss of almost his entire family so young. And this was the second time he had felt this pain. Fate had some serious shit to make up for with this boy and his family.

"You said you remember me?" Derek asks quietly after the silence became almost unbearable.

"Yeah. You came into the station afterwards. I'd seen you around school before, but I had never seen you like that before." Stiles turns and rests his head against the wall, trying to keep his breathing steady "God you were just a kid. You are just a kid! I could never understand what kind of sick person could actually do something like that!"

Almost in sync with his own feelings, Stiles sensed a change in the countenance of Derek as his grief suddenly shifted to fury.

"Who did this to them? Who did this Stiles?" He growls in a dangerously uncontrolled voice.

Before he has a chance to answer, a rattling growl behind him is the only warning Stiles has as the berserker grasps him by the shoulder through the open doorway and hurls him backwards out of the house.

Flying through the air Stiles curls into a ball, straightening again as he hits the yard to spring himself over backwards, landing with his feet spread out and one hand steadying himself on the ground. Without thinking he releases a warning growl and allows his eyes to flash gold. Stiles barely registers Derek's confused expression before the berserker turns and charges towards him.


	8. Chapter 8

Stiles dives to the side when the berserker charges. He pivots on one hand to land facing the beast, who in an amazing display of agility had already turned, less than a meter past Stiles' previous location, and was charging forward again.   
  
_'Shit that thing can move!'_ Stiles thinks, stepping and weaving to avoid it's punches, it's bone claws coming within millimetres of his skin each time. _'I can't kill it with Derek watching. I need to be able to work out his curse without anyone getting in the way. I just need to hold out until the others get here'_.  
  
And so stiles continues avoiding confronting the berserker directly. He dodges to the sides, ducks, slides and jumps out of the way. But with each evasion the berserker gets closer to landing a blow.  
  
In order to break his own patterns, Stiles begins to move more erratically, faking his movements, pretending to attack before dodging underneath the berserkers arms. At one point after the berserker tries to hit him, Stiles grabs the creature's arm as it pulls back to throw himself past the berserker and gain another few meters of space. But even that is closed within seconds.  
  
The scent of blood fills the air and Stiles vision swims as a hit finally connects sending him careening a cross the ground into a tree trunk. He groans and looks up to see a blur of motion and two glowing blue eyes engage the berserker.  
  
"No!" Stiles screams out, but after only a few seconds of clawing and dodging, Derek is flung backwards, crashing through the wall of his house.  
  
*****  
  
Derek groans and pushes his way up from the wreckage of his front wall. He winces at the cracking noise and sharp pain of his bones knitting together in his wrist. He stumbles towards the hole in the wall and looks out in time to see Stiles scream with rage, a glowing aura of energy surrounding his body and his eyes glowing with fury.   
  
He leaps towards the berserker, eight thick tails of fire stretching out behind him, and begins to claw at it with blazing talons. The berserker swings in vain back at Stiles but the boy is moving incredibly fast, blurring around the berserker firing off multicoloured bolts of power that explode on contact and slashing with translucent claws.  
  
The berserker stumbles back from the force of a particularly strong explosion, releasing a rattling growl in anger before deciding to try a different tactic. Cold black eyes focus suddenly on Derek and the berserker begins to sprint towards him. Stiles leaps to intercept, missing the berserkers body but latching on to the back of its head. With a grunt of effort Stiles swings his body around, maintaining his grip on the back of the berserkers skull mask to curve in an arc around the beast using his own momentum to pull the berserkers head around with him. As Stiles swings over its shoulder he faces a moment of resistance, slowing his speed ever so slightly, before a sickening crunch echoes through the forest and the berserkers neck snaps around completely, the body crumpling as Stiles is thrown off by his continued momentum.  
  
Derek runs out to Stiles where he rolls to a stop, sliding on his knees to help Stiles lift himself off the ground a dazed look in his eyes and blood drying on his forehead.   
  
"Holy shit dude! What was that?" Derek exclaims, voice high with excitement. He grabs a hold of Stiles shoulders to steady him as they both stand up.  
  
"That... Was a berserker... Nasty big things..." Stiles replies a little groggily, swaying slightly into Derek's hold.   
  
"No I mean you! What you did that was... Amazing! How did you learn to do that?"  
  
"Oh, thanks." Stiles replies, cheeks colouring slightly. "It's kind of a genetic gift I guess. I could try and teach you though. I think you might be able to use my power."  
  
"Why would I be able to?" Stiles cheeks redden noticeably and Derek notices that strange scent again. He can feel the heat in his own cheeks and ducks his head with a slight smirk. "You know, my parents were stronger together too? They had a bond that was stronger than a normal pack bond, it was almost like they were one person split into two bodies."  
  
When Derek looks up again Stiles is staring at him with his wide, honey brown eyes, his mouth slightly ajar. Before he can stop himself Derek leans forward and closes Stiles mouth. With his own mouth.  
  
The kiss is awkward at first, but Stiles soon recovers from his shock and kisses back earnestly. Derek can hear both of their hearts beating in sync, can feel Stiles' pulse in the throbbing of his lips, his tongue. Stiles hands snake around Derek's neck and Derek pulls him closer, aligning their bodies. As his own hands drop below Stiles' wast to cup the soft cheeks off his arse Stiles' breath hitches and he is suddenly pushing back, leaning his upper body away from Derek without breaking the contact completely.  
  
"Wait, no, Derek this is wrong."  
  
"What?" Derek laughs out, still panting slightly, unable to quite focus on anything but Stiles lips. He ducks his head forward again.  
  
"You are grieving, you are underage and I am taking advantage we can't do this!"  
  
"Stiles." Derek looks him in the eyes. "I didn't kiss you because I am upset. I kissed you because you just killed some huge monster to protect me and it was badass and a major turn-on."  
  
"Oh." Stiles sighs. "Well as nice as it was I kind of ruined the moment didn't I?"  
  
"Not necessarily. Although it does seem inappropriate to continue now that you mention it..."  
  
Stiles nods and removes his arms from Derek's neck, extricating himself and walking away to sit on the steps leading to Derek's front verandah. Derek follows and sits next to him, their legs touching comfortably. They sit in silence before Derek remembers what they had been about to talk about before they were attacked.  
  
"So about the fire..." Before he can finish, a deep rattling growl echoes from the tree line.  
  
"Oh for fuck's sake! Stay here!" Stiles jumps up and starts running towards the trees. "I'll deal with this one and I will come right back, I promise!" He yells over his shoulder before disappearing into the darkness.  
  
Derek listens to a huge bulk crashing further away into the underbrush, Stiles faint heartbeat the only sound he is making in pursuit. After a few minutes there is only silence.  
  
Derek stands and paces lightly as he waits. After another few minutes pass and he is suddenly acutely aware of the lack of noise. The animals of the forest have not resumed their noises. Something was still out there.  
  
Crouching low in the shadows, Derek allows his senses to reach out into the surrounding forest. Just as he is about to give up, he hears a steady heartbeat coming towards him. Focussing on the sound he hears unmasked footsteps picking carefully through the forest and he stands tense, waiting to confront whoever is coming.  
  
"Stiles? Is that you?" He calls out when the footsteps stop just past the trees.  
  
"Hey there Derek." Kate says stepping out from the darkness. "Remember me?"  
  
*****  
  
"What's wrong?" Kate asks, her voice dripping with concern.  
  
"I don't know about this." Derek looks around nervously "I'm not supposed to show the vault to anyone outside my family."  
  
"Come on, we talked about this."  
  
"Yeah, but, how do you even know?"  
  
"Because you told me." Kate pulls a hurt look "Don't you remember?"   
  
Derek shakes his head weakly.  
  
"Tell me if you remember this." She takes his face in her hands and kisses him roughly. It is overly passionate. Insincere. It didn't feel natural like kissing Stiles had. She pulls back and smiles.  
  
"We get inside the vault. We get the Triskelion. And then everything goes back to normal."  
  
"That's all you want?" Derek asks.  
  
"That's all we need." Her heart stays steady. "But right now we have to get inside that vault."  
  
"Over here." Derek sighs and walks over to the old school sign and inserts his claws into barely visible crevices, twisting his hand. The grating sounds of stone sliding on stone fills the air as the sign begins to move revealing a staircase below it with a booming halt.  
  
"Why would your family build a vault under a high school?"  
  
"The vault was here first." Derek replies before leading Kate down into the darkness below, the air is stale and chokes him slightly but he continues, leading her past shelves full of artefacts, herbs, ingredients, medicines and weapons. Countless family treasures amassed over the years. He walks past it all, ignoring the faint scent of his mother that still hangs in the air after all this time, until he reaches a small antique wooden chest.   
  
"It's in there." He says gesturing at the box and Kate shoves him slightly out of the way to rip it open and snatch the medallion inside. She stares at it, transfixed.  
  
"This is it?" Derek nods "You're sure?"   
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It doesn't look like much."  
  
"That's 'cause it isn't." Peter's voice cuts through the air of the vault and the two of them spin to face him. "Quite the elaborate scheme you have here, Kate. Two countries, Aztec temples, Derek returned to a teenager. One that trusted you. One that loved you."  
  
Peter walks calmly forward as he speaks, pausing a few meters in front of them and tutting.   
  
"All this complication just to gain access to our vault. Just to get your hands on that little piece of junk." He laughs cruelly. "Turn it over. Go ahead. There's a scrape on the back where it used to say 'Made in China.'"  
  
"You're lying." Kate says, her knuckles white as she clutches the talisman. Her face takes on a mask of barely veiled desperation.  
  
"I admit I have a tendency to exaggerate things... But in this case the truth is so much more fun." He laughs again as Kate's face falls. "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart, that little pendant is just a physical object to focus on. It's training wheels. Talia used it to teach Laura. I tried to use it to teach Derek."  
  
"Is this real?" Kate turns to Derek and grips his shoulders. Her fingers feel sharper than they should and he winces slightly. "Tell me if this is real!"  
  
A roar echoes faintly down into the vault. It sounds desperate. Pained.   
"Didn't you hear that?" Derek says looking towards the vault exit. "That was Scott."  
  
Kate grabs Derek's arm in a vice-like grip.  
  
"Tell me!"  
  
"I don't know!" Another roar of pain echoes down the stairs. As Derek looks towards the noise Kate grabs the chest off the shelf and clubs him in the back of the head. Peter simply raises an eyebrow as Derek crumples to the floor. Kate takes a step towards him and he puts his hands up in a placating gesture.   
  
"No need for that Kate, I don't plan on stopping you. I just want to talk." Kate straightens up slightly, a confused scowl on her face. Peter plucks a long wooden box from a nearby shelf and gestures to the exit. "Shall we take a walk?"  
  
*****  
  
Stiles winces at the sickening crunching sound Scott makes upon hitting the wall. Allison fires a flash bang arrow at the wall above him and the berserker winces briefly from the piercing light.  
  
Stiles darts between the berserker and Scott and smashes his baseball bat up under its chin, making it take a few steps back, which he uses to pull Scott to his feet, subtly feeding him some energy with his touch.  
  
"What was that Stiles?" Allison asks as they climb the closest set of stairs, trying to put some distance between them and the monster.  
  
"Mountain ash" he replies shaking the bat airily. Allison squints slightly but nods. "We need to find Derek and get out of here. Maybe you could roar to him Scott?" His own senses couldn't locate the boy, meaning he was probably somewhere magically warded or underground, but hopefully Derek could hear them.   
  
As they reach the top of the stairs the berserker lands with a thump in front of them, kicking Scott in the centre of his chest and sending him flying back down. Scott releases a pained roar when he hits the rail, his eyes blazing red. Stiles dives forward under berserker's legs and Allison jumps a few steps backwards to avoid its claws.   
  
Scott pushes to his feet and runs forward, driving his shoulder into its stomach in an attempt to tackle it. He manages to push it back a few steps before it plants its feet and drives an elbow into Scotts back. Another roar rips from his chest.  
  
Suddenly Lydia rounds the corner, Jackson on her heels, and releases a piercing scream, the shockwaves knock the berserker over the rail and it tumbles to the ground below.   
  
"Come on let's go!" Stiles yells, pulling Scott up again and running down the corridor Lydia and Jackson just appeared from.  
  
They turn into the school and sprint down the halls, down a staircase and onwards, cutting through the building to get to the far side.   
  
As they come to the exit door, Stiles is leading and bursts out into the front yard. He takes two strides out of the door before the berserker slams into him, sending him flying into a nearby support column.   
  
Stiles groans in pain and feels his ribs snapping back in to place on both sides of his chest, from the impact of the berserker and the pole. _'Fuck that thing hits hard'_ he thinks.  
  
Scott tackles it again as it begins to walk towards Stiles and Jackson joins him, the two of them clawing and weaving about it. Allison shoots at its limbs to interrupt its own attacks, but the arrows do little more than halt its movement, not even scratching its skin.   
  
Growling the berserker suddenly lunges out, grabbing Scott and Jackson by the throat in each hand. He pulls them closer to his body before throwing them back, Scott taking out Allison and Jackson landing near Lydia. Stiles sits up against the column and begins to summon his power. As his hand and eyes begin to spark, the berserker paces quickly towards him.   
  
The berserker raises its arm above its head as Stiles raises his own hand at it, but a sudden growl sounds and the berserker is knocked to the side by a flying kick from Derek. The freshly adult Derek stands protectively above Stiles and roars at the berserker.   
  
The beast prepares to attack again but suddenly stops, tilting its head slightly as if listening to something. It turns suddenly and sprints away, disappearing into the forest within seconds.   
  
There is a moment of tense silence as everyone waits for something else to happen, but when there are no further attacks, a collective breath of relief leaves the group. Derek offers a hand to Stiles, which he takes gratefully and pulls himself up. Stiles brushes dirt off himself and looks at Derek with a silent thanks. They maintain eye contact for a while before Lydia clears her throat primly. Scott raises an eyebrow at the exchange but doesn't mention it.   
  
"Thank you. All of you" Derek says,looking at the group. "You didn't have to come for me, but you did anyway."  
  
"Sure we did" Stiles says, punching his shoulder lightly.   
  
"Kate was here wasn't she?" Scott asks abruptly, looking at Derek. "What did she want?"  
  
"She's struggling to control the shift. Whatever she is, she can't control herself. She was looking for an old talisman my family used to train us when we were younger." He pauses "I don't think she got what she wanted though. Peter said it was fake, then she knocked me out and when I woke up I was alone and back to normal."  
  
"Peter?" Stiles asks, making eye contact with Lydia. "That's not good. I'd say she got what she wanted and more. Are you sure there was nothing missing?"  
  
"You think Peter helped her?" Derek asks with a hurt expression.   
  
"Unfortunately I'm almost certain of it. Can you show me if anything else was taken?"  
  
"Okay." Scott's eyes widen slightly at how easily Derek agrees but once again he stays silent.  
  
"Scott, do you and Allison think you can find a trail? I'm pretty sure she was on foot." Stiles turns to Lydia. "Can you keep trying to find out what we are up against. If you can learn anything about berserkers or ageing magic that would be great. We don't want her doing that again. Jackson....do whatever the fuck you want, you won't listen to me anyway."  
  
Jackson flips him off as the others simply nod and head off.  
  
"Okay. Let's go see if anything's missing."  
  
*****  
  
"Wow..." Stiles breaths out, spinning slowly on the spot as he stands in the centre of the Hale vault. "This place is dripping with power. Where did your family get all of this?"  
  
"My mother she..." Derek swallows the lump in his throat he always gets talking about his family. "She was the alpha of Beacon Hills for a long time, including when the nemeton was still whole. This place has always pulled supernatural creatures to it... But when that tree still stood, it was an endless flood. My mother had it cut down and made into a whole lot of things. Containers, weapons, even the frame of our house... That's why the structure still remains after the fire."   
  
Derek pauses to run his hand over one of the many wooden chests sitting on the shelves.   
  
"Over the years she collected artefacts and prizes from the creatures that came."  
  
"That's kind of weird then."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well if these containers are made out of nemeton wood, there shouldn't be any presence of power. The wood absorbs it all. So the amount of power in the air suggest that one or more of them are leaking."  
  
"...or just that one of them has been opened."  
  
Stiles walks over to where Derek is standing and sees a long wooden box lying open, disturbed dust in small ridges around it from being picked up and placed back in the wrong spot. Derek was right, the source of power was emanating from the box.  
  
"Derek... What was in this box?" Stiles shudders from the feel of the magic. "It feels dark."  
  
"It was a sacrificial dagger. Made of dragon bone. A cult once tried to sacrifice the whole town in order to resurrect a dragon... They had already sacrificed about a hundred before we stopped them."  
  
"That's not good... Derek, a charged sacrificial dagger can be used for some dark and powerful shit."  
  
"Charged?"  
  
"With souls. People have a misconception that sacrifices are done to appeal to some higher being with offerings, but in reality it just traps the souls of all those who are sacrificed within the knife. Souls are basically the magical equivalent of nuclear energy, so 100 of them in one knife is basically a close combat hydrogen bomb."  
  
"How do you know all this?"  
  
"I... I've studied magic for a long time."  
  
"How long?"  
  
"Um..." Stiles sighs. "A couple of thousand years give or take."  
  
"How is that possible. I've seen you grow up. You went to my school..."  
  
"I cast a rebirth spell. It's quite difficult to do because it requires a stillborn child, which is kind of impossible to predict accurately. This body is technically speaking only 19, but I infused my entire soul and being into it to give it life again."  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Derek takes a small breath and says much quieter. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"If you remember when you would have been 5ish there was a huge blackout that took out most of the state? That was a side effect of accidentally supercharging a baby with that much magic. I had to seal away everything from my previous life until the body was ready to accept it, otherwise there would have been a cataclysmic magical event. I only gained my memories back fully after the nogitsune."  
  
"When you started acting weirder than usual..." Derek says with a smile. Stiles laughs and nods. "So what are you?"  
  
"Kitsune."  
  
"Like a fox spirit?" Stiles nods again. "Wasn't the nogitsune..."  
  
"Yeah, that's what happens to my kind when we fail to break our curse."  
  
"Oh... So what's your curse?"  
  
"Well, unfortunately it's your curse too..." He can't look Derek in the eye, staring at his feet instead. "It's why your family died. And unless I can stop it in time, you will die too."  
  
"Stiles, that's not your fault..."  
  
"Of course it's my fault Derek!" Stiles yells, turning away. "I have watched you die time and time again for thousands of years, knowing that this would never have happened to you had I not been born! This curse was created as a counterbalance to my power!"  
  
Derek takes a step towards Stiles and hates that he flinches away.  
  
"I have loved you... Time and time again for thousands of years knowing that I was the reason you were suffering." Stiles says so quietly Derek has to strain to hear him.  
  
"I don't know about any of that Stiles. But I know, somehow despite everything, that you are the one person I could trust with my life." Derek places a hand on Stiles shoulder. "I know that you care to a fault about everyone around you. That you have one of the sharpest minds I have ever seen. That you still grieve over the things you did while you were possessed, even if your loyalty made you resist that monster at every turn. And I know that you are somehow the most clumsy and graceful person I have ever seen at the same time." Stiles chuckles slightly.   
  
"That's because I don't have my tails to keep my balance..."  
  
"I also know that for some reason you avoid any conversation about feelings by making jokes." Derek says in a cheerful voice as Stiles has the decency to look sheepish. "And from what I know of you in this lifetime... Well I know you would never inflict harm on a person if you had the choice not to. And that you would do anything physically or mentally possible to fix something that you perceived as being your fault."  
  
Derek takes Stiles' hand and pulls him around to face him.  
  
"This curse is not your fault Stiles." Derek says, forcibly holding eye contact. "And even if it were, you have obviously blamed yourself for so long that I am certain you would have done everything within your power to fix it. If everything fails. If you can't break this curse, please, I just need you to know that it is not your fault. It is never your fault. I don't want you to turn into that monster when you are the only good thing that has ever stayed in my life."   
  
Derek leans in and kisses Stiles softly.   
  
"I believe in you Stiles. You can do this."

He kisses him again, slower and deeper. Stiles tension melts away with the kiss and he moans into it, his skin shivering as Derek begins to stroke his hands over his body.  
  
As they kiss faster and harder, Derek backs Stiles up against a shelf, his hands busy undoing the buttons on Stiles' shirt. He throws the garment to the ground, pausing to pull his own shirt over his head before grabbing Stiles' neck with one hand and pulling him back in. Their hands roam over each others body. Stiles' fingertips tingle with each new feeling, the bulge of a muscle, the soft hair on Derek's arms, the coarser hair on his face. Each body part of Derek's that he touches sends waves of energy through Stiles' body.

Stiles gasps as Derek, in one smooth motion, pops open his fly and slides his hand down to take hold of Stiles. All the while their mouths stay locked together, eyes closed to experience each sensation. 

Stiles finds himself chasing contact suddenly. He needs more. He opens Derek's pants and pushes them down, pushing his own down as well, kicking them off fully. He presses himself to Derek, getting as much contact between their skin as he can. He takes hold of Derek's cock and begins to slide his hand up and down, matching Derek's pace. Without quite realizing it, Stiles allows his magic to surface, let's it flow freely within his body, and judging by the sudden gasp, through his skin into Derek's body.

A feeling of weightlessness fills Stiles the more they touch. Derek's other hand reaches around to Stiles' arse, a finger teasing at the opening, before pushing slowly past the tight ring of muscle. Stiles gives in completely to Derek, their minds connecting in flashes as thoughts pass between them. His body complying with every whim. A twinge of discomfort in Stiles back leads their bodies to rotate slightly to a new position. A thought of mild concern from Derek over the lack of lubrication and Stiles' becomes wetter and smoother, Derek producing precum to match. 

They kiss, grind, stroke and hump each other until the sensations are too much to bear and suddenly Stiles is straddling Derek, slowly sliding down onto his cock. Derek groans as wet heat envelops his dick, his hips bucking slightly, trying to speed the process. Stiles steadies himself with his hands on Derek's chest until their bodies are flush once more.

He leans in to gently kiss Derek once more before sitting back. He raises himself up so that just the tip of Derek is inside him, sinking down again much faster. He repeats, again and again, slowly building his pace as Derek moans softly. Both of them are breathing heavily as Derek begins to thrust up to meet Stiles, the wet slap of flesh echoing in the room. 

Stiles closes his eyes the first time Derek hits his prostrate. A blinding light behind his eyes as a wave of pleasure rolls over him. Each thrust hits the same spot and Stiles is soon panting heavily, the light constant behind his eyes. Derek's chest is rising and falling rapidly, his hands now on Stiles' hips as they thrust together.

Stiles can feel Derek inside him. He can feel himself inside Derek as well. Feel both of their climaxes approaching. The sensation is overwhelming.

One final thrust and Stiles and Derek cry out. Stiles opens his eyes to see Derek staring back at him in wonder. As they both orgasm, they are surrounded by swirling lights, floating a meter off the ground. Stiles cum paints Derek's abs and he can feel the warmth spreading inside himself. 

Stiles leans forward and kisses derek again. Small, quick kisses, along his jaw and neck as they slowly ride through the continuing waves of pleasure, eventually lowering back on to the ground. Stiles sits back and looks at Derek who releases a short incredulous laugh.

"I think it's safe to say that was a first for both of us." Stiles says lightly, waving away the mess they made with a flick of his hand.

"That was amazing. You are amazing." Derek says, a smile pulling the corners of his mouth. He sits up and kisses Stiles quickly on the lips before they both help each other stand and start getting dressed.

For just a moment they are both content. They are happy.

Then they hear Allison's cry for help.

*****

Scott and Allison slowly stalk through the trees near the school grounds. 

"Got something!" they both call to each other in unison, smiling sheepishly. Scott walks over to where Allison is standing. She gestures at some hurried tracks.

"God, how is she running through a forest in heeled boots that tall?" She says jokingly.

"I want to know how the berserker with her is apparently more dainty and doesn't leave tracks... they all stink though so we have that to follow." Scott says and Allison laughs. 

"Come on. Let's follow." The two fall into a companionable silence as they pick their way through the underbrush, following the tracks and Scott's nose when they disappear.

"Hey have you done our English readings yet?" Scott asks suddenly.

"What? No... I haven't really had the time. You?"

"I had a look. But yeah that's what I was getting at. Stiles has been running around like crazy the last few weeks. He's almost never home. I don't know how he'd keep on top of it." Scott ducks under a branch.

"Yeah... I don't think he's bothering to be honest... Do you notice anything off with him?"

"Yeah of course I do. He's changed ever since Peter's death. And then the nogitsune..." Scott shudders.

"Oh... You never mentioned it?"

"I didn't want to stress him out. We've all been through a lot of crap you know? People cope in different ways. I can't imagine what it would be like to be possessed." He shrugs. "And besides, Stiles is adamant about pretending that we haven't noticed and that he's got it under wraps. He works better if he thinks his plans are all working."

"You don't care he's hiding something?" She raises an eyebrow and looks over at him. "I mean, he's done so much stuff recently that is... well... beyond a human's capabilities."

"Yeah. He says he's been training with Deaton a bit... but maybe he picked something up from the nogitsune itself? You can't have something in your head without being at least partly inside it's head too right?"

"Yeah, I guess not." She pauses to think for a while. "You know a lot more about everything than you let on. Why do you hide that?"

"I don't hide..."

"Of course you do Scott." She stops and faces him. "You make it seem like Stiles is the only one with brains. You always hide your own needs if they clash with someone else's. Like how you accepted Derek into your pack, or how you are giving me space."

"Derek has no one else, I'm not going to turn him away just because I have a grudge. And you asked me to." He shrugs again. "I mean, that one I admit is a little hard. I don't want you to think that I am not willing to fight for you or anything. I just want you to be happy."

Allison laughs.

"You are so selfless!" She sighs softly. "I want to be with you Scott. But... I think I need to take things slow. Build a fresh relationship rather than trying to reignite the old one. Does that make sense?"

"Perfect sense." Scott smiles dopily. "So will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes you idiot." Allison replies laughing.

They stop speaking again for a while when Scott suddenly stops, a concerned look on his face. 

"Wait, we've been here already. Why would their tracks lead in circles..."

"Scott look out!" Allison yells as a huge shape falls from the trees behind him. She moves her crossbow but a sharp pain radiates in the back of her skull and she collapses.

Lying on the ground, her vision blurry she sees Scott struggle, but the berserker simply crushes him in a bear hug and picks him up, following Kate further into the forest.

Allison calls weakly after him but any attempt to move makes her vision swim black. She crawls to her knees desperately, but by the time she is standing they are already long gone.

She turns and stumbles as fast as she can back towards the school. When she reaches the school grounds she calls out to Stiles and Derek, who come running out of a small stairwell to meet her halfway.

"They took Scott!" She pants, falling onto her knees. Stiles grabs her arms to support her. "Kate took Scott!"

*****

Allison and her father, Jackson and Lydia, and Stiles and Derek all sit in separate cars out the front of the small derelict church. Somehow Stiles knew this was where Kate would take Scott. It was the perfect location for her to use that knife. Multiple ley lines connecting on the site of a buried Aztec temple that has probably seen thousands of sacrifices of it's own. Stiles could feel the power of the place like he couldn't the last time he had been here. It was dormant. But it was definitely there, the presence of the dagger must've triggered something on its own.

They sit for a moment before Stiles thumps the steering wheel.

"Dammit, I can't sense Scott anywhere. I can hear four heart beats, but none of them are his."

"You recognise his heartbeat?" Derek asks.

"Of course... I recognise all of your heartbeats."

"Maybe she didn't bring him back here."

"Only one way to find out." Stiles hops out of the car and watches the others do the same. "Let's go ask."

Stiles strides forward, swinging his baseball bat up on his shoulder. Derek follows closely behind and the others shortly after. Allison and her father spread out to get a good vantage on the mouth of the church. Stiles hears the heartbeats inside moving rapidly closer, and it's not long before two berserkers leap through the doors of the church.

Stiles runs to meet them head on, slamming his bat into the face of one as Derek fly kicks the other.

"Kate must be able to make more somehow!" Stiles yells. "There were only ever three and we killed two already."

He ducks effortlessly while talking as the berserker they knew attacked. Derek is having a harder time.

He is struggling to keep his ground against the new berserker who seems faster and smarter. It doesn't have the muscle mass of the first, but it appears to be highly combat trained, assessing and exploiting Derek's weaknesses with ease.

Stiles nods at Lydia, turns to grab the berserker closest to him and drops backwards to the ground. As the berserker falls, Stiles uses his legs to piston it into the air behind him with it's own momentum, watching as it connects with the shock waves of Lydia's precisely aimed scream sending it flying into the wall of the church. 

He flips back to his feet and releases a shock wave of magic at the other Berserker who was standing over Derek with his claws raised. Stiles runs to help him up when two more shapes fly out of the church, one tackling Stiles out of the way and the other going for Derek.

Stiles kicks Peter off him when they land and looks over in time to see Kate dragging Derek back towards the temple, her claws at his throat. He growls and looks helplessly at the others.

"Go!" Allison screams. "We'll hold them as long as possible."

Even as Stiles starts to run for the church, the other berserker rises to it's feet and looks at Allison. Her heart jumps when she sees it's eyes. She looks it up and down and notices the double band tattoo on it's bicep.

"Scott?!"

A roar sounds from the temple and the berserker Scott watches as Peter and the other beast retreat, following after Stiles to presumably buy Kate more time. He turns back to face Allison and growls.

Scott stalks towards her and is met by a blast of Lydia's scream, sending him rolling to the side. He tries to rise to his feet when Jackson lands and punches him back down.

Scott growls, grabbing Jacksons ankle and pulling it out from underneath him. He rolls on top of the boy and punches him in the side of his jaw, knocking him out in a single blow. Lydia screams in answer, walking towards him while blasting him with a constant barrage of shockwaves. Scott stands with great effort and walks against the sound, suddenly close enough he snaps a hand out and grabs Lydia's jaw, sealing her mouth shut with his hand. He pulls his arm back and then tosses her easily through the air. She rolls to a stop and lies motionless in the sand. 

Allison and her father launch into action, running evasively and firing off flash bangs whenever he gets to close. But nothing they can do can stop him. As a berserker his own speed and strength are greatly enhanced and it's not long before Allison is left alone, facing down the hulking figure.

"Scott please, listen to me." He begins to walk towards her. His eyes show no sign of recognition. "Scott please, I know you can hear me. You need to fight it!"

He swings at her and she ducks to the side, rolling away.

"Scott please. It's me, Allison!" He growls and punches again. She barely dodges in time.

"Scott you aren't a monster! You are a werewolf! Scott" She screams the last word as he throws her backwards through the air.

She looks up as Scott stand over her, a look of hopeless desperation in her eyes as they lock with his own cold stare.

"Please Scott... I love you."

He raises his arm but stops, his eyes flicker with recognition finally and he stumbles backwards a few steps.

"Scott?" Allison clambers to her feet. "Scott can you hear me?"

Scott fumbles at the skull covering his face, grabbing it on both sides he strains. As he pulls a brilliant light shines in a growing crack down the center of the bone before it finally gives and Scott gasps a breath of freedom.

He tosses the skull to the side and pulls Allison into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Allison. I don't know what happened." He whispers. "I tried so hard to fight it but I couldn't stop myself."

"It's okay, your alright. Nobody is hurt it's okay!" She grabs his face with both hands and pulls him into a kiss.

They hold each other for a moment when suddenly the ground begins to quake beneath their feet. They watch as the church collapses in on itself and a huge pyramid, covered with white glowing Aztec hieroglyphs rises out of the desert.

*****

Stiles races down the corridor, the scent of Derek's blood fills his senses, infuriating him almost beyond control.

 _'I can't lose him.'_ He thinks.  _'I only have two hours to midnight. The curse can't claim him before then. But she can.'_

He runs for what seems like forever, her roar didn't give any indicator to where she was, but suddenly there were two pairs of feet somewhere behind him, pursuing him through this endless maze as he pursues Kate. She was taunting him, dragging Derek, dripping blood, all over to wear him out. Against anyone else it would be a smart tactic, but Stiles begins to block off corridors as he passes them, making dead ends and closing the loops of the maze. Eventually there is nowhere else to go but straight and Stiles follows Kate into a huge underground cavern.

Before him lies a giant Aztec temple, untouched by time as if it had been neatly placed here to protect it from the elements. Scanning it he sees Kate picking her way up the side, an unconscious Derek slung over her shoulder.

A bone claw stabs him int he back of his shoulder and he winces in pain, grabbing the arm of the berserker behind him and flipping it over his shoulder. Peter is there shortly after, tackling him in the back and sending them both sprawling.

Stiles growls and gets on his feet, keeping his center of gravity low he assesses the two before him.

Peter moves first, running forward to distract Stiles from the berserker who moves shortly after, angling to the side to flank him. Stiles grabs Peter and swings him bodily into the berserker behind him. He lets go of Peter and uses the berserker as a stepping stone while it is recovering to leap over them and begin sprinting towards the pyramid, leaping up the first quarter of the climb in a single bound.

He climbs with the two hot on his trail, occasionally blasting chunks of stone off at them to slow their progress. He reaches the top with them at least a minute behind him and is greeted with the sight of Kate, the sacrificial dagger in her hand pressed close to Derek's throat, who is lying unconscious still on a large marble slab that served as the sacrificial altar.

"Let him go Kate!" Stiles yells, his anger growing as she smirks in reply.

"You really think you are in a position to make demands?" She asks. "One flick of my wrist and all of your hard work will be for nothing! Another life time wasted chasing your pathetic happy ever after."

"I should have devoured your soul when I had the chance Kate." He says menacingly but she only laughs. Behind him Peter and the berserker pull themselves over the top of the pyramid. "What do you want then?"

"What I have always wanted really. The power to rid the world of your disgusting kind!"

"You mean your kind now right?"

"Not for long honey. I know all about the power in this little toy, and with it I will become so much more than some abomination. I will be a god! I can awaken this temple and use the power to change the world!" She smiles. "All it takes is one, little sacrifice to get the process started."

"Fine. You want to awaken some powerful force? Let's go then." Stiles clasps his fists and raises them, driving them back down to slam a shock wave of magic into the temple below him. He breathes deeply and allows all of his power to surface, allows everyone around him to feel the sheer force of will he contains.

The ground begins to rumble all around them and the cavern above begins to crack and buckle. The sudden movement of the temple causes Kate to stumble backwards, losing her footing and grip on the knife which clatters to the ground between them. The two behind him begin to move forward but Stiles turns and gestures at them, sending them flying back into two stone columns, pinning them with magic. 

The temple begins to rise upwards, the roof of the cavern crumbling down at the same time. Stile throws a weak deflection barrier above them and watches large chunks of rock bounce off the opalescent white shield. 

A sound in front of him draws his attention and he sees Kate crawling for the Knife. He gestures at Derek's body, which floats gently off the altar to lay on the ground a few feet away. Striding forward Stiles grabs Kate by the throat, lifting her with one hand and slamming her down on top of the altar where he had been lying. He pins her there with magic before turning to watch the horizon grow all around him as the temple raises above the earth, stopping at ground level with a shuddering boom. When all is silent he turns back to the altar.

"Do you realise how much pain you've caused Kate?" Stiles asks, eyes dark as he stalks towards her. She struggles against his power but Stiles simply gestures and the stone of the altar itself becomes liquid, drawing her hands and feet inside it before solidifying once more. He picks up the dagger from where it lies. "You inflicted needless suffering in all of your life times. Even before I unwittingly made you an instrument of the curse. A vessel..."

Stiles smiles and walks closer to Kate, lightly tracing the tip of the dagger over her exposed skin. She shudders and her eyes widen in terror.

"Maybe that's the answer, maybe all I need to do is destroy the vessel of the curse..." He raises the dagger above his head. 

"Stiles please, that's not who you are!" Kate says frantically. "You wouldn't do that!"

"You don't know me Kate. You have done nothing but cause the man I love pain and suffering, you have no idea what I am capable of to protect the ones I love." Stiles' pupils expand completely covering his eyes in a deep darkness, thick clouds roll in covering the sky in a roiling turmoil.

 

A bolt of lightning strikes the raised dagger in Stiles' hand and he closes his eyes tightly against the sudden flood of energy in his system. 

When he opens them again he finds himself floating in an endless expanse of darkness. Before him lies a star, blazing in full glory.

He looks around in confusion but sees nothing on all sides but the heavenly orb in front of him. Examining it further makes his eyes widen. Swirls of light on the surface, blaze with motion, faces peering out as they ebb and flow. The embodied power of half a thousand sacrificed souls lies before him.

 

When nothing seems to happen, Stiles assesses the auras of magic around him. He thinks of his objectives and without speaking a word a streak of purple suddenly appears, wrapping in a thick band around the sun. The curse tries to strangle it, but can do no more than pulse futilely against the surface. Stiles examines it closer and sees that the curse is attempting draw power from the sun itself. As if it was living and trying to feed.

 _'Over thousands of years I have fed it with my hatred and fear. Poured energy into trying to defeat it. But the souls have no reason to fear it. The curse only has the power we give it...'_ He thinks. _'When I tried to remove it before, it was by force. I gave it power to reform. If I want to break it... I just have to take the power instead.'_

The sudden realisation dawns on him as he understands the nature of the curse and a burning pain in his spine causes him to double over. He straightens his body and looks over his shoulder to see nine spectral tails floating gracefully behind him.

 _'But if all I have to do is take it's energy... Then what the hell am I going to do with all this power?'_  

An odd idea surfaces in the back of his mind. He opens his eyes and looks down at Kate, he can feel his connection to the dagger, still see the blazing souls just behind his eyelids.

"Do you know how much energy it would take to resurrect someone?" He asks, looking at Kate with a cold, assessing look. His body occasionally crackling with energy residue from the lightning strike. "Let's say in theory that it would take around, oh I don't know, 500 souls to bring back 3 humans."

He taps the dagger lightly against the altar near her head. Kate flinches away but resolutely maintains eye contact.

"But what if they aren't humans you want to bring back? That little spark that supernatural creatures all posess would have to be accounted for. The sacrifice would require something a little extra... say, the soul of a supernatural creature... or three."

He turns and glances over his shoulder at Peter and the final berserker where they are similarly trapped.

"And of course, if that soul has no remains to occupy." He shakes his head slightly and tuts. "Well building them new bodies would require a huge amount of energy. And giving them enough life force to actually live for longer than their creation..."

He laughs.

"You wanna do the maths with me Kate?" He says turning and smiling at her with an evil glint in his eyes. "Because by my reckoning, we have more than enough power here... wouldn't you agree?"

"Stiles let's be reasonable. What could you possibly gain by this?"

"You shut your mouth!" Stiles says glaring at Peter before turning back to Kate. "I am not doing this to gain anything! I am doing this to help YOUR family! The family you have betrayed time and time again."

Once again he raises the dagger over Kate.

"You're bluffing!" She screams, straining with all her might to move, cracks appearing in the slab she is lying on. Stiles' pupils expand completely covering his eyes in a deep darkness, thick clouds roll in covering the sky in a roiling turmoil. "YOU ARE TOO WEAK! YOU COULD NEVER KILL-"

He roars, a deep inhuman bellow and plunges the dagger into Kate's chest, pouring every ounce of magic he has into the object. The world is lit in a brilliant white as phantom daggers simultaneously pierce the hearts of Kate, Peter and the berserker.

Stiles closes his eyes again and watches as a bolt of lightning splits the darkness in three points and new souls appear, drifting towards the orb. The new souls glow crimson, brighter than any other before him. As they connect with the strange sun, a ripple of energy crosses it's surface, altering it to a deep blood red colour.

He turns to the sun and stretches out his hands to help shape his will. First he crushes his hands together, watching as the band of purple light is sucked inside the sun, dispersing add a purplish tinge to the red. Next he splits the sun into three smaller orbs, condensing each one individually focusing on the thought of a specific person, to become three single crimson souls.

In Stiles hand he suddenly notices the dagger, glowing silver and glinting sharply.

He reaches behind himself and grasps the bases of his nine tails, the physical manifestation of his power, bringing the knife behind him as well he severs them all in one clean stroke, unable to stop from crying out in pain. He uses the power of three tails to form a vessel for each soul in front of him.

Finally he takes the knife, takes a deep shuddering breath and plunges it into his own chest. He shoves his other hand into the cavity of his chest and rips out his own heart, pausing a moment to watch it beat in his hands. He cuts the organ into four pieces, places one quarter back in his own chest and the others in each of the bodies before him. 

He takes a moment to admire his work, and then allows the spell to complete itself. All the lights disappear and his mind drifts off into the sudden nothingness. One thought fills his mind before the darkness consumes him.

_'Be happy Derek. Finally be happy...'_

*****

"And that's when I woke up." Derek says, three small faces look up at him totally transfixed on his story. "And I saw your mummy lying beside me, as well as my own parents. But I couldn't see Stiles anywhere. I shook them awake and we ran down the pyramid as it started to collapse in on itself."

"But where was Stiles Uncle Derek?" Remus the youngest boy asked, his face a picture of horror.

"Stiles sacrificed his immortality to bring our family back." He pauses, remembering that awful moment when he couldn't find Stiles, watching as the pyramid imploded into nothingness. "But silly Stiles forgot about the power in the Pyramid."

"Yeah, yeah and then I came bounding out of the sand dunes as a cute little Fennec Fox and it took me months of rehabilitation and help from Deaton to be able to shift back in to a human again." Stiles says jumping on to the couch int he living room to the cheers of the children. "Not to mention I still can't get rid of this." He says swishing his bushy white tail.

"And Derek won't admit that he really likes it and hopes Stiles never learns to." Laura says laughing at the blush on Derek's face. "Come on everyone. Dinner is ready. You can listen to the deliciously awkward tale of their courtship  _after_ we eat."

The children rush in to the dining room where Talia and James are laying out a huge spread of roast meats (with very few visible vegetables). Cora saunters downstairs and Derek goes to answer a knock at the door, beckoning Scott, Allison, Jackson and Lydia inside.

Stiles pauses for a moment in the living room, watching through the door way the large, happy gathering. He traces his fingers over the large family portrait sitting above the fireplace. A frame of dark brown mountain ash wood with filigree gold inlays, covered in small gold foxes and silver wolves, playing in mixed packs together.  
  
Stiles smiles and joins his family. All is good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh it's finally done!
> 
> I have had so much trouble writing this. Thank you all so much for supporting me all this time and putting up with my incredibly long suspense.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, and as usual please let me know if you see any errors.
> 
> <3

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea and my other work is being annoying so I decided to write it down quickly. I have this whole thing planned out basically, so updates for this fic will be much more common. <3 you all. I will post update on my tumblr burtronator.tumblr.com


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